New surgeon general is sworn in, defends her weight

Dr. Regina Benjamin, the rural family physician that will become the "nation's doctor" after she is sworn in this afternoon, counted herself among the nation's 146 million American adults who are overweight or obese, but said "being healthy and being fit is not about a dress size. It's about how fit you are at that moment in time."

Benjamin, 52, told ABC's Good Morning America that her top priority will be "wellness and prevention."

Dr. Benjamin said it was "very hurtful" that she has come into criticism -- "people calling you names" -- for being overweight. "I'm just like 67% of Americans. I struggle with my weight," Benjamin told Good Morning America. "So I understand. And I want to have them help me, and I'll help them. And we'll work together to try to become a healthier nation."

Dr. Benjamin grew up in a state that has one of the nation's highest rates of excess weight in both adults and children. She founded and ran a medical clinic in rural Bayou La Batre, Ala., until recently. When President Obama nominated Benjamin to the job in July, some commentators suggested her extra poundage could undermine her credibility in leading the federal government's fat-fighting efforts. Among them was former New England Journal of Medicine editor and Harvard University Medical School lecturer Dr. Marcia Angell.

Benjamin shares plenty of other medical history with her new patients as well. Her mother died of lung cancer, her father had diabetes and high blood pressure until his death, and she lost her only brother to HIV/AIDS.

The comments on Dr. Benjamin's weight have been all over the map, and many have been positive. My personal favorite, posted some months back on TheFrisky.com: "the job of the Surgeon General of the United States is to make healthcare and policy decisions for this country -- not to look hot in  a pair of skinny jeans."

What do you think? Can Dr. Benjamin be "the nation's doctor" if she is overweight?

-- Melissa Healy

Comments

[califmom]

How can she be effective as a role model if she is obese? If she goes on national TV to tell Americans to eat less, to have a healthy BMI, aren't people going to look at her and ask her why she doesn't?

[Herbert]

"being healthy and being fit is not about a dress size. It's about how fit you are at that moment in time."
Its good to that weight is no longer considered an indicator of health size the new health care plan is puportedly to focus on preventative measurement, and the New Attorney General of the United States will not consider a size 30 dress size as indicative of needing any preventative health treatments!
This is a new attitude isn't it? We must now stop all funding for all weight loss programs under The Obama Plan

[blaarg]

Does this mean we'll finally get milkshake shots when we're babies?

[Jim]

She's way too fat to be the sugeon general, surely out of thousands of Drs who practice what they preach a much better Dr could have been chosen. This Dr, woman is not a good example of a healthy individual. With all her family health problems, you'd think she would be thin and watch everything she puts in her mouth or maybe she's not that smart. Another dummy in our Whitehouse. Please don't take any pictures of her back side.

[John Rowley]

Obesity is a huge concern to this country. I was looking around the internet because it did concern me that we where going to have an overweight surgeon general because obesity is such a precursor to so many diseases. So I wanted to see what she looked like.

I did look up Dr. Benjamin and she is by no means a candidate for the biggest loser TV show. The fact that she could lose a few pounds and have a positive impact on her health is a personal decision. I do think all the attention she is getting for her weight is probably a bit unfair but since she is getting this type of attention it is a wonderful opportunity for her to address this issue in the public arena and encourage others to get into shape. In fact if she personally took control of her weight she would not only encourage others but inspire them to action.

I think it is a great opportunity for our surgeon general to spear head this tough issue. Obesity effects peoples lives and our economy and is just a matter of getting a handle on your lifestyle.

I look forward to see all the wonderful things Dr. Benjamin is going to do as surgeon general!

[Liza]

You have to understand it is not about weight, BMI, it about color, and she is the right one...

She is now leaving the people in a poor ,under doc'd area to go to Washington and not practice medicine, but to push paper.

[Alabama girl]

I wonder if it had been an older man if anyone would have commented on her weight. I think we should ask more questions like..what is her blood pressure, cholesterol count, Body mass, etc before we say she is obese. She didn't look that unhealthy to me. Not everyone is a size 6!!!

[af]

Some people just have a harder time with their weight. As long as she's practicing healthy habits, her weight seems like a non-issue.
However, there is an issue in her credentials. Her medical degree was from Morehouse School of Medicine which is a black school. I'm not even sure where to begin with this one; every medical school in the country practices heavy affirmative action already, yet somehow this ONE demographic group deserves whole medical schools devoted to them?! Howard and Morehouse are the two black medical schools in the US, and have the lowest admission standards and USMLE scores of any US medical schools, bar none. They are a joke.
Second, she got an MBA from Tulane as a follow on degree. a) MBA's are generally worthless degrees, and b) it would seem that any of the thousands of doctors with degrees in public health might be slightly more qualified.
It's sad to say, but it's obvious that she was appointed for her color. I had hoped for more from you, Mr. President.

[Charlotte Oakes]

No one seriously disputes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, which is not necessarily the same as a healthy weight. I do not believe that being overweight precludes you from advocating for public health. Dr. Benjamin is devoting her life to improving the lives of others...her willingness to accept the position of surgeon general and its responsibilities should be applauded and recognized for what it is. Public service does not make one wealthy (compared to private industry) and few people are willing to accept the tradeoffs that come with "serving the people". It's time to stop the personal attacks on people who are willing to accept this type of service and recognize them for their personal sacrifices made in pursuit of the common good.

[kkcjpr]

Unfortunately, most Americans justify their weight by saying that they are "healthy" and it is not about dress size and that would be true except we know that for the majority they have underlying health issues that have just not been identified yet. I think it is ok for her to be the surgeon general if she gets on a "plan" to lose weight and demonstrates that even those with a longstanding family history can change. If she is just going to say that size doesn't matter, she will not take this country in the right direction.

[K Prasad]

Her weight is an issue and she can't take responsibility for it. She will not have much credibility with this characteristic. Additionally, I'm not sure that she has legitimate credentials. I think we should be appointing people who are actually accomplished in medicine. I don't want to pay for her overweight healthcare...

[Javi]

wellness and prevention, to me that means that a person who is going to set the rules, regulations and examples about wellness and prevention, should be in optimal physical condition, i do feel bad for her being criticized, but really, i mean come on, set an example....it seems to me worse and worse decisions are being made inside the government.

[O. Amaro]

The attacks on her regarding her weight is both politically and racially driven. You have Republicans who will do anything and everything to undermine Obama's decisions and policy-making. Then you have those who resent ANY people of color in high positions.

I didn't hear any right-wingers squawking when a politically-connected horse judge was appointed to head FEMA. And we all know how successful THAT was.