Tue, Jul-25-17, 11:25
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Senior Member
Posts: 3,199
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Plan: High protein, lower fat
Stats: 000/000/145
BF:276, 255 hi wts
Progress: 0%
Location: Michigan U.P., USA
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The problem with ‘morbid obesity’
The problem with ‘morbid obesity’
Quote:
The term morbid doesn’t help us out medically when it comes to weight. As a doctor I know what a BMI of 16, 26, 36 and 46 all mean health-wise. I know which one is associated with osteoporosis and which is associated with diabetes. If I don’t then I don’t need an adjective – I need to go back to medical school. I can diagnose, discuss, manage and bill for endometriosis, diabetes and kidney disease just fine without using the term morbid, so why do I need it for obesity?
It is true that patients often ask if their condition is worrisome or serious, but if we can manage with mild, moderate and severe stages of disease (typically one through four) with essentially every other medical condition from prematurity to cancer, then I am quite confident we do not need any special word for obesity.
It’s time to erase the term morbid obesity from our medical lexicon and probably just do away with the term morbid in medicine altogether. http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/...morbid-obesity/
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I first encountered this term working in medical records and coding diagnoses long before I ever became it, and I remember it standing out to me. She's right, that there really is nothing comparable that I can think of in medical terminology. It definitely seems punitive. And these days, when medical records are much more accessible to patients than they used to be, it can't be said that patients won't see the term.
I know when I was morbidly obese, I didn't need to see my records to know that my doctor would be referring to me that way. Yes, it can be a wake up call for some people I suppose, but it felt to me that it just fueled my self hatred, which is never an impetus to positive self change for me.
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