Would you mention a patient's weight if they're obese?

CPD editor Chris Chapman discusses reader's suggestions of improving drugs' packaging and looks at whether it's acceptable to approach someone about their...
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A P, Community pharmacist
Posted on 4 May 2012.
doctors that i have seen in the past have had no problems with telling me that i'm fat. they need to back it up with telling you actually what your bmi is though, and then what it should be. just saying you need to lose weight is not very helpful. they need to say how much.
i would not talk about someone's weight unless they ask first, or their condition that they are asking me about is made worse with obesity.
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Benjamin Leon D'Montigny, Pharmacy technician
Posted on 04/05/12 12:00 in reply to A P.
I agree with AP. If someone comes in and asks for advice and their weight is related to it, I am not afraid to discuss their weight with them. Though it is a sensitive issue for a lot of people, so it's definitely one we would approach tactfully.
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Janet Woodward, Non healthcare professional
Posted on 08/05/12 08:12 in reply to A P.
When the person wishing to discuss weight with me....is on the front page of Vogue as a model of goodness and virtue.....then its fine.
Not at all helpful to have weight discussed by person twice my size....
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Nuria Laiglesia, Community pharmacist
Posted on 08/05/12 09:36 in reply to A P.
I find it easy to speak about it when we offer a Health Check. My dispenser or student calculate the BMI and as AP says, with their BMI, I can tell them if they are clasiffied as obese. Then I can say how many Kg are over and how much their risk of developing diabetes and CVD (Cholesterol is usually high too) in the next 10 years is. We use the QRISK calculator and compare the actual weight with 1 or 2 stones less. Showing patients how many more smileys they could get if they lose one stone gives them more motivation.
During the NMS, I will speak about diet or exercise but I dont tell them "I think you are obese"
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Asmita Patel, Community pharmacist
Posted on 08/05/12 12:46 in reply to Nuria Laiglesia.
Good strategy. Unfortunately not everyone offers Health Check so it is not quite so opportunistic
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