Controversy Surrounds Obama's Pick for Surgeon General
Posted: Friday, 24 July, 2009 | Categories: Weight Loss, Obesity
The appointment of Regina Benjamin as Barack Obama’s new surgeon general has provoked a furore as various individuals said it was not an appropriate selection due to her weight. As soon as the choice was announced last week , online bloggers immediately went into action disparaging her size and since then various doctors have weighed – boom boom – in.
Medical specialists have been questioning whether someone who is overweight can take the lead in pushing projects to reduce U.S obesity. Some have said that people will be more inclined to listen to her if she projects an image of “wellness” while others have said that the surgeon general needs to lead by example.
However, various groups have called their comments ridiculous, pointing out that she is eminently qualified for the position, runs an extremely successful GPs surgery in New Orleans that she rebuilt after the hurricane and is the first African-American women, as well as the first person under 40, to be elected to the board of trustees of the American Medical Association.
They also pointed out that many of her male predecessors were not particularly lithe themselves, but strangely no one had ever thought that worthy of comment.
In the UK, Lord Darzhi, the outgoing Health Minister, obviously agreed with Ms. Benjamin’s critics as it has come out that he wants to ask doctors and nurses who are overweight to shape up. In an interview with The Times, he said that while he believe the Change 4 Life campaign had been successful, he thought medical professionals should be “ambassadors for wellbeing.”