Why the long face? Obese treated like horses

[IRiSHMaFIA]

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro hospitals have been sending obese people to share medical test equipment with horses at the local race track, drawing complaints from activists who say the practice is humiliating.

"When people weigh more than the standard equipment can support they have to be directed to the Jockey Club, which is the only place in Rio where they have the appropriate equipment," a spokeswoman for the Rio state health secretariat said on Wednesday.

Patients needing stomach reduction surgery require a tomography, or multiple X-raying of body sections, which is normally carried out inside a chamber.

Rio hospitals only have standard tomography equipment for people weighing up to 265-287 pounds (120-130 kg). Tomographs used on horses are sturdier and more spacious than common devices.

Rosimere Lima da Silva, head of the Group for Salvaging Self-Esteem and Citizenship of the Obese (Graco), said many patients feel embarrassed to go there.

"The obese patients already suffer from a lot of prejudice and having to be treated where animals are is not helping their self-esteem. Many simply refuse to go," she said.

Graco staged a small protest on Tuesday outside the state legislative assembly and met some legislators to try to oblige hospitals to buy stronger equipment, including stretchers and wheelchairs for the obese, and to authorize more hospitals to perform stomach stapling surgeries.

[pirtybirdy]

I guess there are a couple of point of views one can see here. Yes, it's humiliating, why doesn't the government fork out some money for a couple of machines? Another can say "hey, at least there is equipment that exists in the country at all to do the job and count your lucky stars". Also, they probably don't have those machines in poor African nations, but then again, they don't have food either to stuff themselves and get as big as a horse, so they probably don't need a machine like that in the first place. I suppose if I were that obese, I'd not like to go where the horses go to get weighed and stuff. At the same time, one can look on the bright side and think, after this, it's the last time I'll need to do crazy stuff like this, because I'll shrink to normal size after the operation.

[girldorksrule]

They can always say, "No thanks. I don't want to use the horse equipement," if they don't want to be humiliated. They are not being forced.