‘Physician Heal Thyself’, Part 1: A qualitative analysis of an online debate about clinicians’ bodyweight

Analytically, these data are interpreted within a framework that is critical of obesity discourse, rather than critical of individuals who risk being discredited as overweight, obese or too fat.

Abstract

Physicians and other clinicians are being urged to regulate their weight and fight fat. This and a second paper (Monaghan, 2010) offer a qualitative analysis of an online debate on this issue. A webcast video editorial, roundtable discussion and over 200 postings on Medscape provide rich data for analysing various discursive framings. This paper introduces the online debate, describes the video editorial and roundtable discussion. Engaging members’ subsequent postings, one particular framing is then explored: the acquiescent. Here contributors disparaged overweight/obesity/fatness and personal (in)actions assumed to cause unwanted weight-gain, while stressing individual responsibility for ‘correcting’ this. Acquiescence comprised three main discursive strands: ensuring occupational credibility, the health rationale and rejecting other clinicians’ excuses. Analytically, these data are interpreted within a framework that is critical of obesity discourse, rather than critical of individuals who risk being discredited as overweight, obese or too fat.