I've posted here complaining about my awful, terrible, no-good obeast receptionist before. Obviously I have other coworkers, they mostly range from average to fit to thin. (I'd describe myself as average BTW, not American average but actually average)
My work friend was seeing the doctor due to some symptoms of carpal tunnel. She is a tiny Pacific/Asian lady, probably 4-11" and around 99 lbs. She talks about her weight a lot, saying she wishes she could gain a few pounds, as being over 100 lbs would make her feel more "womanly." Haha, yes, turning the whole "REEEE-al Woman" thing around.
Totally unsolicited, her doctor started bugging her about her weight. She was repeatedly told she was MALNOURISHED. Based on nothing but her appearance. Friend said her BMI was calculated at 20. Twenty!!
She was almost in tears. I told her not to worry, 20 is totally good. It's on the lower side of normal, but it's not even in underweight category, is it? Besides, coworker eats plenty, I see her chow down at lunch on the daily and she's always talking about the endless dinners and banquets her friends and family put on. I asked her if the doctor was fat, and she said "she was American, it's hard to tell."
Burrrnnnnn. Would this be reverse-thin-privilege? Skinny shaming?
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[–] Swole_is_life 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Be careful not to be the other side of the coin from the fatties and declare your doctor a quack just because you don't like what he says.
If he's basing it purely on BMI then yes he's a fool, but there are other signs of malnutrition than being underweight and he should be trained to look for them.
[–] PCOSBelle 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Hmm, good point, she could have had some deficiencies in her bloodwork.
[–] somebuttoronebutt ago (edited ago)
Was just about to post the same comment. Asians can be prone to vitamin D and B12 deficiencies in particular, which can lead to a lot of other shit.
She should follow up with a different doc (hopefully one who is better at communicating with patients) to double check that her bloodwork is all ok.