Obese people neglected by some physicians

DURHAM, N.C., Aug 03, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Obese people are less likely to receive health services such as mammograms, Pap smears and flu shots, a Duke University Medical Center study suggests.

The study showed that, for a sample of white middle-aged women, as body mass index went up, the odds of receiving mammograms and Pap smears went down.

In fact, a white woman of normal weight was more than 50 percent more likely to receive a mammogram than a severely obese white woman, researchers said.

They also found a similar inverse correlation between obesity and flu shots among elderly white women and men. But no significant association was found between obesity and all three preventive services among black study participants.

"Despite knowing obese women have a higher risk of breast and cervical cancer, and the obese elderly have a higher risk of complications from flu, obese people are less likely to receive clinical preventive services," said lead researcher Dr. Truls Ostbye, a professor of community and family medicine.

The researchers suggest the significant causes may include social stigma and bias by health care providers.

The results of the Duke study appear in the September issue of the American Journal of Public Health.