Obesity and preventive health

Filed in archive News on August 29, 2005

Apparently the obese are getting less preventive health services. That is simply inexcusable:

Despite their often higher risk of disease, obese adults are less likely than their thinner peers to get some of the most essential preventive health services, new study findings show.

Researchers at duke university Medical Center found that obese white adults had lower rates of mammography, Pap testing and flu vaccination than normal-weight people did.

The reasons, the investigators say, cannot be determined from this study, and are likely to involve a number of factors. But "anti-fat bias" could be playing some role, they speculate.