From Simon Neill, Centre for Applied Oceanography
I’d like to respond to the letter from Kate Hancock-Cooke from Wisconsin (1 February, p 25), following up the report that patients don’t trust overweight doctors (4 January, p 7).
The prejudice she refers to is not against overweight members of society in general. It is against that aspect of the physique or psyche that can be perceived to betray hypocrisy, given the person’s profession. It is the incompetent business executive, the dishonest politician and the atheist member of the cloth who are to be feared, not simply those who are overweight.
Unfortunately, none of these attributes is as immediately apparent as obesity and it is possible for these people to attain a position of power before they are discovered.
Menai Bridge, Anglesey, UK
