Regina Benjamin Surgeon-General...a fat lady?

[Anonymous]

Again, the lady eats too much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have said the same thing if it were a man. Also she received a free education if she agreed to work in a rural area and nothing against that but it was also a smart business decision.

Why?

Because there is a need for family doctors/GPs in rural underserved parts of the country. She probably paid some for her Tulane MBA though.

NP here. Maybe it was practical but a smart business decision???? A smart business decision would have been to go into plastic surgery in Montgomery County. If the rural medical market were all that attractive, docs would be rushing to sign up -- they wouldn't have to offer to pay for anyone's medical education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have said the same thing if it were a man. Also she received a free education if she agreed to work in a rural area and nothing against that but it was also a smart business decision.

Why?

Because there is a need for family doctors/GPs in rural underserved parts of the country. She probably paid some for her Tulane MBA though.

NP here. Maybe it was practical but a smart business decision???? A smart business decision would have been to go into plastic surgery in Montgomery County. If the rural medical market were all that attractive, docs would be rushing to sign up -- they wouldn't have to offer to pay for anyone's medical education.

Don't know the statistics for getting admitted to the plastic surgery practice area but if it's anything like any other highly paid sought after job, I would think it would be very difficult and only a select few, even among highly intelligent, well credentialed doctors, would be chosen. So instead, why not opt for the free education and think about a higher paying job elsewhere sometime down the road?

[Anonymous]

As other posters have mentioned read her bio. I don't think anyone can question her motivations for becoming a rural doctor. She founded a rural health clinic in Louisiana almost 20 years ago. If she only wanted a "free ride" for school, she would not have stayed in that community for so long. When the clinic was devastated by hurricanes she leveraged her own personal finances to save it. Doesn't seem like she's in it for money.

[Anonymous]

Hey, let's get back to the subject at hand here-frankly, all you people who have a problem with fat people always use the health factor as a smokescreen to make your superficial dislike of the overweight seem more politically palatable. We live in a society were the visual is simply more important to us then the content. When I go into a store or walk down the street and people treat me as if I am invisible because I am overweight, they sure as hell aren't worried about my health. Now that outward prejudice against people of color and homosexuals is no longer considered acceptable, prejudice against fat people is still allowable as long as people always say, "doesn't that person worry about their health" as opposed to what they are really thinking-"that fat person is visually unattractive to me."(and that's putting it politely). Do you think if the AMA comes out tomorrow with a trove of new research stating that fat isn't unhealthy at all and actually leads to a longer life span, guys are going to rush out to date fat woman, airlines will stop charging for two seats and all the movie stars will gain 50lbs? Why do I doubt this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey, let's get back to the subject at hand here-frankly, all you people who have a problem with fat people always use the health factor as a smokescreen to make your superficial dislike of the overweight seem more politically palatable. We live in a society were the visual is simply more important to us then the content. When I go into a store or walk down the street and people treat me as if I am invisible because I am overweight, they sure as hell aren't worried about my health. Now that outward prejudice against people of color and homosexuals is no longer considered acceptable, prejudice against fat people is still allowable as long as people always say, "doesn't that person worry about their health" as opposed to what they are really thinking-"that fat person is visually unattractive to me."(and that's putting it politely). Do you think if the AMA comes out tomorrow with a trove of new research stating that fat isn't unhealthy at all and actually leads to a longer life span, guys are going to rush out to date fat woman, airlines will stop charging for two seats and all the movie stars will gain 50lbs? Why do I doubt this?

I think we need to stick with the real issue instead of your personal weight issues.

It's like hiring someone who is still a raging drunk to be the face of Alcoholics Anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, but it used to be that wealthy women were plump. Poor working class folks were skinny back then. Gout was the rich man's disease. I guess plump was once desirable... or maybe just the $ associated with size.

[Anonymous]

14:02 your analogy is faulty-maybe try "like hiring a smoker to be SG"-that would be more apt. Again, we know nothing about this woman's personal behavior(if you live with her and are privy to everyday activities, my apologies). And maybe it's your personal issues you are having trouble grappling with-namely after taking a good hard look in the mirror, you are realizing that you are prejudice against fat people. Don't sweat it-you're not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:02 your analogy is faulty-maybe try "like hiring a smoker to be SG"-that would be more apt. Again, we know nothing about this woman's personal behavior(if you live with her and are privy to everyday activities, my apologies). And maybe it's your personal issues you are having trouble grappling with-namely after taking a good hard look in the mirror, you are realizing that you are prejudice against fat people. Don't sweat it-you're not alone.

No, no prejudices against fat people - but the Surgeon General's biggest challenge is going to be fighting obesity in the United States - along with its associated issues: diabetes, heart disease, etc. Her own father died because he was obese, had diabetes and had heart disease. Yet she herself is obese.

I agree with the fast majority of posters here: she will probably die young like her father since heart disease and diabetes both run in families. And it's all preventable.

[Anonymous]

Actually, the opinion on this discussion, after rereading it thoroughly, seems to be 50-50-some folks see her as a poor choice based on her weight, while an equal number feel that her credentials outweigh (hee hee) her phyical appearance. While the job of Surgeon General has everything to do with forming health policies in this country, their responsibility as a role model could be greatly debated and is not so easy to define. Look at the inverse logic-the previous acting SG, Galson, appeared to be of healthy weight, yet there was no decrease in US obesity rates during his appointment which began in 2007. As far as my own personal issues, when I brought up her qualifications and credentials as being the reason for her appointment, her detractors on this thread were quiet-except for a few who offered the highly intellectual argument that she eats too much. Dr. Benjamin was even taken to task on this thread for working in a rural community to provide healthcare to the uninsured rather than taking a more lucrative position based on her qualifications-as if avarice would be more desirable quality in a government employee. While there are certainly overweight people out there who eat too much, do not excersize and have other poor health habits, there are also those with metabolism and thyroid issues that simply cannot be considered functions of their behavior. I stand by my position that we are not only a fat country, but a fat prejudiced country and were we less so, Dr. Benjamin's weight would not be such a hot topic of conversation, to the point where it overshadows her achievements in the health care field.

[Anonymous]

Amen.

[Anonymous]

Think about if she were to lose the extra weight while SG. What a role model and inspiration that would be.

[Anonymous]

Why do we look to others to be role models? Why do we expect the SG to conform to our ideas of what a role model is? It doens't work with sports figures, it doesn't work with people in the entertainment business and it certainly does'nt work with politicians. Instead of looking to put the yoke of role model on the unwilling and unsuspecting, why not BE role models ourselves? Example-you're against gay marriage, don't marry a gay person. You are pro-life, don't have an abortion, you are against fat people, don't be a fat person-but don't expect everyone to agree with and mirror your beliefs. If you do, time to move to Saudi Arabia and you'll never have to think about anything or have an opinion about public policy again.

[Anonymous]

I doubt the Surgeon General, no matter who it may be, can do anything meaningful about our obesity problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Think about if she were to lose the extra weight while SG. What a role model and inspiration that would be.

Yes, and if she dies of a heart attack or diabetes, then maybe that might motivate other obese people.