Currently, the diet industry is a 6 billion dollar a
year combination of programs, products, and services. There are more obese people than ever before,
so, despite all of the services, programs and products, it is still not working. It may be time to look behind the fast food
establishments, and ordering food online, and then face the facts. There are
obviously a lot of people that cannot control their food intake. More people have eating disorders today than
ever before and yet help is not always available.There are substance abuse clinics, and
gambling addiction support groups in great supply, and they are free for the
most part. On the flip side, try to find
a free or low-cost eating disorder clinic, and you would be searching for quite
some time. Obesity is ignored, and often
viewed as the lack of self-control by the overweight person. Many people consider an eating disorder that
involves obesity as the addiction that is completely ignored and not recognized
by most.However, if you question an
obese person on their thoughts regarding food, and their eating habits, you
would certainly see the pattern mimics other addicts, the ones that are
recognized and helped by society.
An Obese Patient
Pat was a nurse and speaks of a 750 patient that was
admitted to the hospital, unable to stand. He shared his story on how he had been seeking help for 15 years with no
success. He had a problem, he knew he
had a problem, but he did not know how to handle it. He was too large to drive, and currently
lived on disability. He simply did not
know where to turn for help, and then it got so bad that he had no choice but
to be hospitalized. He had an addiction
to food and was an emotional eater, there was no question about that, and the
question was what to do to treat him. The
care team at the hospital were surprised that this patient was permitted very
little from his insurer. They would
offer him home care, someone to cook and clean some; however they would not pay
for any type of support for his food addiction. The attending physician called
and spoke to the representative for the insurance company, attempting to convince
them that the patient needed to be moved to an eating disorder facility. The insurer said while they did cover eating
disorders, it was only for underweight and not overweight. The hospital ended up keeping the patient in
their care and monitoring his diet, he lost over 200 pounds. The physician contacted the insurer again
explaining the cost to keep the man hospitalized far exceeded the cost for an
eating disorder clinic. The insurer explained they only cover underweight
clients. Fortunately, the hospital staff
held a fundraiser and managed to get the patient into a clinic for obese
patients, and he continued to do well. The attending doctor filed a complaint regarding the lack of coverage
from the insurance company, only to find out that 90% of insurers practice the
same way, the obese are not covered for their addiction.
Some would argue that over-eating is a choice and not
an addiction; however one may also say that every addiction is a choice. Regardless, addictive behavior is a serious
condition, regardless of what the addiction is, even if it happens to be
over-eating and binging.
There are currently very few clinics in the United
States that work with obese patients, and those that do are costly, and most
often not covered by insurance. Obesity
is a very serious condition, and if you have a patient that is struggling, do
what you can to support them, as there is such a lack of support
elsewhere. When obese patients are
hospitalized and under your care, are sure they follow the physicians ordered
diet, and support them with praise and motivation.
Help for the over eater is quite
limited, and the patient may receive the only help they will get from their
hospital visit, so offering encouragement and support will be very beneficial
in learning to control their addiction.
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