@lonelydragon: ”@tom_g Of course they have the right to advise their patients to change their habits, but when the doctor is obese himself and yet he’s lecturing his patients about their weight, that doesn’t set a very good example. Such a person would lose credibility with me pretty quickly.”
First, I’m not talking about “lecturing” – I’m talking about treating. To go with my example, there seems to be an understanding that you treat the symptoms of diabetes rather than the cause. This certainly makes sense in the U.S. because there is a ton of money to be made if we ignore the cause and keep treating the symptoms. The “don’t judge” impulse is (in my opinion) the misapplication of a good impulse. Of course we want a society that is less judgmental and more accepting. But how does this apply to a person who is tasked with helping us get healthy?
So, back to my example…Let’s say I’m 150lbs overweight, I have developed diabetes as a result (along with a ton of other health problems), and my toes are gangrenous. The job of the doctor should not just be to cut off my toes, put me on insulin and other drugs ($$) and send me on my way with a smile. The cause of my deteriorating health is my excess weight. This is treatable and should be addressed.
If doctors can’t address a person’s obesity, I can’t imagine what good a doctor is at all. Why not just call them “the middleman” between the pharmaceutical industry and its customers. It’s more of a business profession than a health profession in that case.
So back to your concerns about being “lectured” to by overweight doctors. I’ve covered why I feel the term “lecture” is not the correct term here. Addressing weight = addressing lifestyle = the whole point of a doctor in the first place. But as to your concern that the doctor may be overweight himself/herself: I’m not sure how this comes into the picture at all. If the doctor has knowledge on how to be healthy, conveys this to you and works with you, what does it matter if the doctor is not following his/her own advice? The advice is either correct (leads to better health) or it isn’t. The messenger’s acceptance of the advice into his/her own life says nothing about the advice itself.