Obese Patients Who Feel Judged Negatively By Physicians Have A Harder Time Losing Weight

The perception by obese patients that their primary care physician had passed judgment on their size led to less effective weight loss efforts, a Johns Hopkins University study has found. The study involved a national Internet-based survey of 600 obese adults who regularly saw their primary care doctors. Asked if their doctor ever judged them because of their weight, 21 percent believed they had. Ninety-six percent of those who felt judged said they tried to lose weight, compared to 84 percent who did not. Fourteen percent of those who felt judged lost 10 percent or more of their body weight, though 20 percent of those who did not feel judged lost a similar amount.