Disturbing Conversation on Overweight Healthcare Workers

[FutureDNP2021]

I overheard a disturbing conversation of nurses who were saying that overweight people should not be working in healthcare. They were basically saying that patients do not respect health advice or treatment from a worker who is unhealthy themselves. I am posting this topic because I wonder if this is a shared sentiment among the medical field? Or from patients? Or has anyone experienced anything related to this? Like getting fired, or discriminated by either pateints or a facility and such? Are there ever clauses in facility contracts that employees must maintain optimal heath to represent the industry's interest? (I am in Vegas & yes casinos do enforce waitresses/dealers with a +/- 5 lbs. original hiring weight monitoring weekly). I hope this is not what nursing school meant by "take care of ourselves before we can take care of others." Honestly, I dont think like this but wonder if others in healthcare do? Is this really a "thing?"

BTW, they were referencing a theme of nurses who gained weight from emotional overeating. They were not referencing a physiological underlying condition. ~ Thank You ~

Why Are So Many Nurses and Healthcare Workers Overweight and Unhealthy?

[video=youtube_share;4W9insJ8ko0]

[Libby1987]

With our societal obesity epidemic it's not a nurses' working conditions issue. The conditions can be blamed as the primary cause all day long but that's not the cause, nor the fix. I've got the same statistics in my office where breaks, getting up and moving and good food are encouraged and supported in a safe sunny semi rural part of whole food abundant California. Some choose it and some 2/3'rds don't.

And when are inpatient nurses doing all of this weight loss education? They're coming home to us still sick and marginally stable so I can't imagine there's time to have those kinds of discussions. (In fact they might want to take a break instead of weight loss education, if this futile patient education is even happening) Why is that even part of this "hypocrisy" discussion? I'd bet the farm this is an asesthetic issue, and not brought about by obese patients who don't want to hear their nurses tell them how to lose weight.

If I were going to admit to judgementalism though, and I will, it would have to be towards our local morbidly obese pediatrician. I would choose not to bring my kids to this provider for their well checks. I don't care if that makes me horrid, I just couldn't do it for the risk of the influence someone in that position could have on my kids. Just like I wouldn't want their teachers/coaches/childcare providers smoking in front of them, I wouldn't want their first healthcare provider to be morbidly obese during their most impressionable years. I don't think that makes me a fatist but if it truly does, I'll have to own it.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

If you really want to lose wait by-pass the coke - go straight to the meth.

It's not really a joke -but in my experience in psych - most of my meth addicts are rail skinny and don't sleep for days!

Hppy

Yeah, but I need my sleep and want to keep my teeth.

And, I don't want to be the subject of a thread involving jittery nurses whose teeth are following out.

[Oemgee, RN]

I'm overweight. I've had patients ask me (always men, never women, but that just goes to show societal ills and male privilege to comment on the appearance of females) if I'm a diabetic. I then proceed to tell them that I am not, that my BP is normal and that I know for a fact that my cholesterol is better than theirs is, I can deadlift up to and over my own body weight if necessary and I can make it all the way down the hall and start compressions in 30 seconds. I then ask them if they have any other questions, then proceed to educate them on their medical conditions. The assumption that fat is equivalent to unhealthy is prevalent, but patently untrue.

I have had a situation where my weight has helped me. When you're discussing the fluffy life (and how that's affecting heart rhythm and other functions) with a patient that is more than 800 lbs, it's easier to be fluffy yourself. I don't know what led this person to get there but having the struggle yourself made it easier to relate.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

I agree no one should be shamed for their weight, however, as healthcare professionals, we should try to incorporate healthy habits into our lives. I remember reading before about how even running 10 minutes several days a week can be beneficial cardiovascular wise. Saying u don't have 10 minutes to spare is pure bull. And you don't get to be 5 feet, 250 lbs because u have a thyroid issue. That is bull too. Most people have food addictions. Google some of the blogs or pages of triathletes and runners who work full time and have a family. They still get it done.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Oh, goody, this topic again.

The day that nurses have a job that actually facilitates healthy habits is the day they can start worrying about overweight nurses. Cafeterias that serve crap empty calorie food, impossibility of adequate breaks, expectations to do more and more with less and less, long shifts that don't actually end when they're supposed to, the list goes on. Since it's quite likely that such a day will never come, then I have no issue with those who are physically capable of doing the job working as a nurse regardless of their size. I'm morbidly obese. My job is demanding. I have pretty much zero energy when I get home from work to do more than relax on the couch for a while, take my dog for a short walk, cook a meal (try to keep it on the healthy side, but on those days I'm on call and have to work late, forget anything time consuming), and go to bed so I can do it all over the next day. But I am fully capable of doing my job, and that is what matters.

Everyone has a day off, no?

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Firstly, never underestimate the damage that menopause can do to a body and how it can effect not only your hormonal profile but your ferritin and thyroid leading to fatigue and lack of energy as well as metabolism. These issues can begin in perimenopause as early as the age of 30+. Secondly, if hospitals don't start providing healthy food for nurses and staff practices that reduce stress instead of increasing it, how do they expect nurses to be healthy role models? There's a fallacy about nurses being the bastion of health, fitness and looking so petite in her little starched nurses uniform, when in reality most nurses don't get a chance to eat properly prepared food, rest adequately or have the energy to exercise when their shift is over because they're overworked and stressed to the hilt. People can only thrive if the culture that they reside in is accommodating.

I'm sorry, but I have read countless articles that have stated that the weight gain that comes with menopause stems largely from the great reducton of muscle mass that starts in your 30s. I am female and I have been doing powerlifting for a year. I have more muscle mass than I had in my 20s, and muscle mass is a great generator of your metabolism. That's like saying that having type 2 diabetes is a normal part of aging. It's all this crap that causes people to make excuses as to why they gain 60 lbs after high school. Excessive weight gain is not a normal part of menopause.

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

Within the last year, my weight has fluctuated 10 pounds. That may not seem like much, but this was never an issue if I exercised in moderation.

However, I'm 44 and menopause is around the corner. It's not so easy anymore, regardless of how well I eat. When you judge someone as overweight, you really don't know their history.

I'm also not working the floor, and that makes a HUGE difference. Wait and see, is all I can say.

Menopause is not a sudden nail in the coffin for weight gain. Muscle loss is, do your research.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I agree no one should be shamed for their weight, however, as healthcare professionals, we should try to incorporate healthy habits into our lives. I remember reading before about how even running 10 minutes several days a week can be beneficial cardiovascular wise. Saying u don't have 10 minutes to spare is pure bull. And you don't get to be 5 feet, 250 lbs because u have a thyroid issue. That is bull too. Most people have food addictions. Google some of the blogs or pages of triathletes and runners who work full time and have a family. They still get it done.

And for those of us who cannot run due to joint issues or injuries that are unrelated to our weight?

Self righteous much?

[RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN]

And for those of us who cannot run due to joint issues or injuries that are unrelated to our weight?

Self righteous much?

Are u SERIOUS??? GO SWIMMING! Plenty of people with joint issues exercise. Being sedentary is NOT healthy. And it's not being self righteous. The point is that playing the whole I'm too busy card doesn't cut it. You get ONE BODY. Take care of it.

Also, ever heard of paralympics? Again, people overcome a lot of obstacles to be active.

[n6medjim]

There are reasons for one to be overweight few of which are really legitimate. Given the current overly high BMI demographic of our population, the biggest problem we really have is a lack of discipline to maintain a healthy life style, regardless of vocational discipline.

Having said that, consider counseling a pt on the risks of smoking when the nurse reeks of tobacco smoke from the break (s)he just returned from. Or remarking "... looks like we are gaining weight..." to that pt just weighed by a very obese nurse. (This happened to a friend of mine and he gave little credibility to the nurse for anything she said after that.)

I have not counseled any pt to do anything re health maintenance that that I wasn't already doing or would do.

Warning, harsh comment follows: For those of you who are overweight, smoke (really? despite watching pts die as a result of smoking, you still do?!?), get over it, straighten up, and stop making excuses.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Are u SERIOUS??? GO SWIMMING! Plenty of people with joint issues exercise. Being sedentary is NOT healthy. And it's not being self righteous. The point is that playing the whole I'm too busy card doesn't cut it. You get ONE BODY. Take care of it.

Also, ever heard of paralympics? Again, people overcome a lot of obstacles to be active.

You are being judgemental and self righteous. The weight or health of your colleagues is not your business, and you have no right to judge anyone.

Again, although it's not your business, I am unable to run, to jump, to kneel or to squat. I can, however swim for an hour at a time in current and swell. I imagine a pool would be easier. And I can walk all over the place which is good, because that's my main mode of transportation. That and a bicycle, but I don't like bicycling.

If patients don't want to accept my care or my teaching because they disrespect "fat assed nurses", that is their right. Is a ignorant choice, and to voice it is offensive, but it is their right. But for you to judge and to preach at colleagues who surely know every bit as much about the benefits of exercise and the evils of junk food as you do is perhaps even more offensive. I'm glad you have your body just the way you like it; but have the courtesy and kindness to not comment on anyone else's body or choices. Unless, of course, they are your patient and you are giving them health information they lack. In that case, I'm sure you will display more tact than you have here.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

There are reasons for one to be overweight few of which are really legitimate. Given the current overly high BMI demographic of our population, the biggest problem we really have is a lack of discipline to maintain a healthy life style, regardless of vocational discipline.

Having said that, consider counseling a pt on the risks of smoking when the nurse reeks of tobacco smoke from the break (s)he just returned from. Or remarking "... looks like we are gaining weight..." to that pt just weighed by a very obese nurse. (This happened to a friend of mine and he gave little credibility to the nurse for anything she said after that.)

I have not counseled any pt to do anything re health maintenance that that I wasn't already doing or would do.

Warning, harsh comment follows: For those of you who are overweight, smoke (really? despite watching pts die as a result of smoking, you still do?!?), get over it, straighten up, and stop making excuses.

Good for you; I'm sure you're a much better person than the rest of us. Our JOB is to counsel patients re: health Maintenence. Our personal health is our own business and none of yours. Unless, of course, you're my PCP in which case I would have fired you for your inadequate communication skills.