Family and friends..a sensitive issue

If you saw a family member, friend or loved one about ready to eat a food source that you knew was tainted with salmonella, you would quickly yell or get their attention immediately to stop them from getting harmed.

If you see a family member, friend or loved one with obesity, and intellectually you knew that their health was being significantly jeopardized by their weight, would you figure out a way of getting their attention and trying to stop them from being harmed?

The two examples above are very different, yet bear this similarity: you never want any illness, or even worse, premature death occurring in the people who are so very dear to you. Yet, in the first example, without hesitation, you would move swiftly and aggressively to get the person's attention but in the latter example, you find it very difficult to broach the subject. This is very common, meaning that it is a highly sensitive issue to bring up in conversation someone else's weight problems. You fear hurting the person's feelings, invading their privacy, and otherwise risking your friendship or relationship with that person. I had two patients yesterday who told me that their own doctors never told them they needed to lose weight. Physcician's are supposed to be objective medical professionals, and if some find it uneasy to bring up weight issues to a person, all of us can imagine how difficult it is to bring these issues up to our friends or loved ones.

Please consider a tactful approach to people in your lives who are important to you. Your intervention is only out of love and caring...not hurtful. You may be saving the life of a loved one.