Pediatricians' Weight Could Be Obstacle

For many doctors, it's tough enough to talk to an adult about a weight problem, let alone a child. Apparently, that's an even bigger challenge if the doctor is fat, or thin. Some skinny pediatricians worry they'll seem unsympathetic. Their overweight colleagues, meanwhile, risk seeming hypocritical when they give advice to chubby children.

That's what a pair of studies surveying pediatricians in North Carolina suggests. In fact, many children's doctors "would rather treat strep throat than obesity," said Dr. Reginald Washington, a Denver pediatrician who co-chairs an obesity task force for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The studies also found that a physician's own weight could affect his comfort level in counseling an overweight child. Even more surprising -- nearly half of the doctors surveyed who are overweight didn't know they were.

The first study, which outlined the role of pediatricians' weight in managing obesity, was published earlier this year in the journal Obesity Research. The second study outlining pediatricians' confidence in managing obesity appeared in the May-June issue of Ambulatory Pediatrics.

Both were based on a mail survey of 738 pediatricians in North Carolina who belonged to both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the N.C. Pediatrics Society. The adjusted response rate was 71 percent.

The survey asked respondents to report their height, weight and whether they classified themselves as overweight, average or thin.

Physicians who viewed themselves as "thin" had more than five times the odds of finding obesity counseling "more difficult" compared with those of "average" weight. Pediatricians who perceived themselves as "overweight" were twice as likely to report problems, according to the study.

"I wonder if the patient's going to perceive me as someone who can help with this problem," said Perrin, who is not overweight. "I imagine them saying to themselves, 'OK, she's clearly very trim. What does she know about my struggles?'"

But Dr. Neil H. White, who has battled weight problems for the past 10 years, said his struggles have offered a way to connect with overweight patients. The pediatric endocrinologist with St. Louis Children's Hospital and Washington University in St. Louis has weighed as much as 240 pounds, but is down to 218 and hopes to reach 200.

•	Pediatricians' Weight Could Be Obstacle Associated Press, Monday, Aug. 15, 2005 Byline: Aaron Beard, Associated Press Writer

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