Overweight women often encounter stress and setbacks in the health care arena that may cause them to delay or avoid getting medical treatment, according to a new study.
Women who are overweight encounter insensitive health care providers and hospitals and clinics that are ill-prepared to help patients of their size, according to the study's authors, Emily Merrill, an associate professor and nurse at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, and Jane Grassley, an assistant professor and nurse at Texas Woman's University.
"If you are already struggling with a health care problem this makes it worse," said Merrill, the lead-author of the study.
Eight overweight women were interviewed over a four-month period in a West Texas city for the study, which was published Thursday in the "Journal of Advanced Nursing."
The women in the study, ages 20-61, talked about feeling ashamed and embarrassed in hospitals and clinics because they needed larger gowns, blood pressure cuffs, scales and chairs, according to a Journal news release.
"I had to wait like a half an hour just for them to get my blood pressure because they had the wrong cuff. So then they had to go looking for the other one... . The nurse was running around the office, We need the bigger cuff. She can't fit the other', and I was just like, Oh, my gosh!'," said one of the women.
Several women reported feeling inhuman because of experiences in waiting and exam rooms and comments from providers, according to the study.
One doctor compared his patient to a whale as she delivered her son, she said.
"I think I weighed 215 pounds when he was born and I just felt huge... . I can remember in the delivery room the doctor saying something to me ... during the birthing process. He said, Just relax and just envision yourself on a beach like a big ol' whale beached'... . That hurt me so much because already I felt big," said the woman.
The women also described being dismissed by health care professionals in other ways, including receiving no treatment for their health complaints or having their weight addressed as the problem instead.
One woman said a chiropractor refused to treat her for her arthritis because of her weight. He "took one look at me and said All you need to do is lose weight and that would solve all your problems'... . He didn't bother with X-rays or an examination or anything ...," she said.
Texas ranks 12th highest in the nation for adult obesity at 26 percent and women are more likely than men to be obese and die from the condition, studies show.
Merrill said health care providers should purchase furniture, equipment and supplies designed for patients who are overweight and avoid using offensive language to make health care environments more welcoming for overweight patients.
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