Can diabetic educators be fat?

[Heinz beans]

Something has been ticking over in my head since I last worked with a diabetic educator. This lady said that a good diabetic educator should not be overweight or fat as they are supposed to role model the appropriate behaviour for their clients. I can see what she means but also consider this is a very limited view. I was wondering what other peoples two cents were and whether they found clients listen more in these situations.

[**new**]

diabetic educators shouldn't be allowed to be fat. PERIOD. they carry no credibility, and it's just plain gross.

[CuriousMe]

diabetic educators shouldn't be allowed to be fat. PERIOD. they carry no credibility, and it's just plain gross.

Oh good, as long as we're not being judgmental and mean about it.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

diabetic educators shouldn't be allowed to be fat. PERIOD. they carry no credibility, and it's just plain gross.

Reading your posts, I am starting to think you are only here for a dramatic effect :|

[CuriousMe]

Reading your posts, I am starting to think you are only here for a dramatic effect :|

Yes, I'm smelling Troll as well...so be it.

[mammac5]

I'm a nursing student who used to be morbidly obese. I am no longer obese and I would not refer patients to a diabetic educator or registered dietician who is visibly obese.

I would not refer a patient to a physician who smoke cigarettes, a dentist with bad breath, a personal trainer who is not visibly in good shape, or a pediatrician who doesn't like kids (trust me, I've met them!). I wouldn't send them to an addictions counselor who smokes like a freight train or to a surgeon who I knows drinks alcohol to excess (yep, I've met her, too!). I would not suggest my friends attend a church where the pastor is repeatedly treated for STDs (although I would not share that piece of confidential information with them, of course).

That may mean that I'm judgemental, I don't know. But I do know that when the rubber meets the road, I expect someone who is a designated expert in a field to walk the walk and be a living example. Not perfect by any means, but generally speaking I want to see that this person believes what they are passing on to others and that they can follow, "physician heal thyself." Would I stop using a DE who I "caught" in a bakery eating a donut? No way. Would I stop using a DE who was obese to the point where she had difficulty walking, huffed and puffed as she walked, or loaded up her grocery buggy with junk food...probably.

[JenforRN]

Marilyn Monroe was a size 14 and that was considered healthy in her time.

That is thanks to vanity sizing. Her measurements are like a modern size 6 or 8. She was far from plus-sized (which is pretty obvious from her photos coupled with the fact that she was 5 foot 5 or so).