Could Your Doctor Be Keeping You From Losing Weight?

Hopefully, your doctor is both helpful and supportive. But many women aren’t so lucky and often leave the doctor’s office feeling judged. Not only does it feel bad to be guilt-tripped, but it may also backfire: Overweight patients are actually less likely to lose weight if they feel their doctors are passing judgment on them, according to new research published in the journal Preventive Medicine.

For the study, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine surveyed 600 overweight and obese U.S. adults who regularly visited their primary care doctors. The researchers found that 21 percent of the respondents thought their doctor judged them because of their weight—and 96 percent of those patients had attempted to lose weight in the last year. Meanwhile, 84 percent of patients who didn’t feel judged tried to drop pounds.

Wait, isn’t that a good thing? Not so fast. The researchers also found that 14 percent of people who discussed weight loss with a judgmental doctor lost 10 percent or more of their body weight—compared to 20 percent of those who chatted with a non-judgmental doctor.

So while people who have disparaging docs may be more likely to try to lose weight (or at least say that they’re trying on a survey), they’re less likely to succeed at their slim-down goals, says study author Kimberly Gudzune, M.D., M.P.H.

Previous research from Gudzune has shown that, in general, doctors spend less time with their obese patients—and more than half view such patients as unattractive and noncompliant. Geeze. And women are more likely to be on the receiving end of a guilt trip from their doctors than are men, per research from the University of California at San Diego.

That’s a healthcare crisis in and of itself: A good doctor-patient rapport is linked with better health outcomes (like weight loss), and people who like their doctors are more likely to keep coming back, says Gudzune. One study in Patient Education and Counseling found that having an empathetic doc can even reduce your brain’s pain awareness.

Use these tips to find the best general practitioner possible:

How a Doctor’s Gender Affects Your Care

The Worst Way to Find a Doctor

Doctor Ratings: Who Is Handling Your Health Care?

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