On June 8, the Finger Lakes Times’ “Things You Need to Know Today” column had the following: “For the first time, more than 4 in 10 U.S. women are obese.” Now, due to my years of working in victim services, when I see such a statistic I also naturally think of “1 in 3 women by the time they reach age 18 are victims of sexual abuse or sexual assault.” So it has been my intention ever since to write about these possibly linked topics.
At least 8 percent of obese women are survivors of sexual abuse in childhood; I expect that the percentage is even greater. This number is not well known since medical providers and other health practitioners have not routinely asked patients about their abuse history. An intake appointment would be the time for such thorough information gathering. Follow-up appointments are focused on weight, blood pressure, and medication monitoring. Concerns for obese patients have to do with hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease. One aspect that is not considered is the part that obesity plays for some patients as being a solution for them, rather than a problem.
[For more of this story, written by Edith Mann, go to http://www.fltimes.com/opinion...06-631bb7f8413a.html]
Comments (0)