Just wanna throw in another two cents into this thread:
I work as a doctor in Indonesia... often in rural areas where education is muddled with religion, myths, and traditions. Most people here believe that fatness is correlated with health. So, they firmly believe that the fatter you are, the healthier you are. Now just imagine the look of horror on my face when the patient brings in their 2 year old who is so obese that he's gasping for breath, got fat stored in all sorts of places (my brain screaming: "his body decided to use the forehead to store fat because there's no other place left?!"), and the parents decide to ask me: "he's so healthy, why is he having breathing problems?"
Me: "What makes you think he's healthy?"
Parents: "Look how chubby he is. He's very healthy. He loves to eat spicy food and drink sweet tea without a problem."
Me: "Wait... you're feeding this 2 year old sweet tea? ... and did you say spicy food?"
Parents: "Yeah, and he loves to drink sugary syrup drinks."
Me: "... well that explains the rotted out teeth. does he not brush his teeth?"
Parents: "No, he's too young for a toothbrush. he's just a kid, doc."
Me: "... Okay, so... he's too young for a toothbrush, but you see no problem in him drinking tea? How many cups a day btw?"
Parents: (noticing my strained voice) "...err... how many cups eh? hmm... one or two..."
Me: "Truthfully please..."
Parents: "Four sometimes."
Me: "So, about five or more."
Parents: "Yes." ... "Can you give him an injection?"
Me: "What do you mean 'injection'? I'll order the nurse to explain to you on how to change his diet and educate you on how to keep him within healthy weight limits. And I'll prescribe some oral medications for the breathing problem."
Parents: "... Because injections work better and faster."
Me: "... no. Listen... injections are just a method of delivering medicine. It isn't necessarily better or faster."
Parents: "... The other doctors gives injections. Are you a fresh grad?"
Me: "..." (choosing to ignore the question) ... "Why isn't he wearing shoes btw?"
Parents: "He doesn't like to walk. He gets tired."
Me: "... so you carry him everywhere?"
Parents: "The mother loves him. It's our first child."
Me: "What activities does he have other than eating?"
Parents: "He is very smart. He turns on Youtube all by himself and watches all day. He can even charge the phone himself."
Me: "... I meant physical activities."
Parents: (trying to think of something to say to make me happy) "We regularly take him for oil massage since he was born"
Me: "... that explains the deformed skull."
Parents: *whispering to each other in local dialect* "next time, we'll take him for coin-rubbing instead. This doctor doesn't know anything."
Me: "..." *giving them the prescription* ... "NEXT!"
I work as a doctor in Indonesia... often in rural areas where education is muddled with religion, myths, and traditions. Most people here believe that fatness is correlated with health. So, they firmly believe that the fatter you are, the healthier you are. Now just imagine the look of horror on my face when the patient brings in their 2 year old who is so obese that he's gasping for breath, got fat stored in all sorts of places (my brain screaming: "his body decided to use the forehead to store fat because there's no other place left?!"), and the parents decide to ask me: "he's so healthy, why is he having breathing problems?"
Me: "What makes you think he's healthy?"
Parents: "Look how chubby he is. He's very healthy. He loves to eat spicy food and drink sweet tea without a problem."
Me: "Wait... you're feeding this 2 year old sweet tea? ... and did you say spicy food?"
Parents: "Yeah, and he loves to drink sugary syrup drinks."
Me: "... well that explains the rotted out teeth. does he not brush his teeth?"
Parents: "No, he's too young for a toothbrush. he's just a kid, doc."
Me: "... Okay, so... he's too young for a toothbrush, but you see no problem in him drinking tea? How many cups a day btw?"
Parents: (noticing my strained voice) "...err... how many cups eh? hmm... one or two..."
Me: "Truthfully please..."
Parents: "Four sometimes."
Me: "So, about five or more."
Parents: "Yes." ... "Can you give him an injection?"
Me: "What do you mean 'injection'? I'll order the nurse to explain to you on how to change his diet and educate you on how to keep him within healthy weight limits. And I'll prescribe some oral medications for the breathing problem."
Parents: "... Because injections work better and faster."
Me: "... no. Listen... injections are just a method of delivering medicine. It isn't necessarily better or faster."
Parents: "... The other doctors gives injections. Are you a fresh grad?"
Me: "..." (choosing to ignore the question) ... "Why isn't he wearing shoes btw?"
Parents: "He doesn't like to walk. He gets tired."
Me: "... so you carry him everywhere?"
Parents: "The mother loves him. It's our first child."
Me: "What activities does he have other than eating?"
Parents: "He is very smart. He turns on Youtube all by himself and watches all day. He can even charge the phone himself."
Me: "... I meant physical activities."
Parents: (trying to think of something to say to make me happy) "We regularly take him for oil massage since he was born"
Me: "... that explains the deformed skull."
Parents: *whispering to each other in local dialect* "next time, we'll take him for coin-rubbing instead. This doctor doesn't know anything."
Me: "..." *giving them the prescription* ... "NEXT!"