The Hazards of “Failure Talk”

摘要

Imagine that you have a drug or alcohol addiction.nThen imagine that everyone keeps telling you thatnthere’s only a 5% chance of overcoming your addiction.nTalk about a self-fulfilling prophecy! When itncomes to weight control, people receive this message allnthe time—I call it “failure talk.” Not only is failure talkndiscouraging for those who are overweight or obese, butnit leads some healthcare professionals to throw up theirnhands and say, “Why bother?” In turn, “Why bother?” isnoften the very message communicated to patients—if fornno other reason than by omission, when a healthcare professionalnchooses to say nothing about an overweight ornobese patient’s weight.