Beware the Medical Community Prejudice of Eating Disorders

The bias towards people with eating disorders in the medical community is very prevalent. Doctors have little medical background or information about eating disorders and thus tend to conflate their own personal beliefs with clinical acumen. The result is a lot of anger and unprofessional behavior towards patients with eating disorders and, just as concerning, subpar care.

The greatest missing link from doctors treating eating disordered patients is compassion. It’s very difficult for doctors not to blame patients and their families for the illness. They struggle to comprehend that an eating disorder is a psychiatric illness that is difficult to treat. It is even more unfathomable that someone could not get better despite adequate treatment.

Doctors frequently tell these patients unceremoniously that they are wasting medical attention and money, will die anyway or are abusing the system for their own personal benefit. Families are often berated by medical professionals and are forced to endure unacceptable treatment in order to support their loved one who is getting medical attention.

Unfortunately, this attitude tends to allow doctors to feel justified in making poor decisions for their patients. If one’s attitude towards a patient is judgmental and angry, it is harder to feel compassion and thus harder to make the wise decision for a patient. It can be easier to make a safer decision, whether or not it’s best for the patient, since it is more difficult to trust a patient with an illness that makes no sense.

This attitude may lead a doctor to ignore otherwise concerning symptoms like chest pain or dizziness, to hold off on blood tests or scans or even suggest surgery even if other less invasive treatment is available. No doctor will make these decisions maliciously. But if a doctor has difficulty understanding the true medical situation, it’s harder to make wise clinical decisions.

Often I find myself arguing with doctors to consider the entire patient when making critical decisions. However, the bias runs deep in the medical world. The willingness to open one’s mind to new concepts becomes harder over time, and the medical community is still closed to understanding how to treat people with eating disorders.

One key step to change the circumstances is education. The more doctors understand these illnesses, the easier it will be to coordinate care. Another way to consider these patients’ best interest is through the discipline of medical ethics. This branch of medicine encourages doctors to think more broadly about clinical decisions and to consider all outcomes.

Perhaps through opening the eyes of doctors, the medical world can see the scourge of eating disorders more clearly and provide the care these patients deserve.