08/21/2025
Maybe it’s time we all start asking: what does weight have to do with this?
Why is weight listed on a visit summary for a broken finger?
Why is BMI called out when someone comes in with a sore throat?
Why is the word “obese” showing up in records when it was never discussed?
The truth is, much of medicine still defaults to weight as the headline, even when it has nothing to do with the reason for care. This isn’t whole-person health. It’s bias built into systems and training.
Your health is not defined by a number on a chart.
Your care should not be reduced to a label.
And you have the right to ask, every single time:
👉 What does weight have to do with this?
✅ Times When Weight Is Clinically Relevant
• Medication dosing
• Many drugs are prescribed by weight (e.g., chemotherapy, anesthesia, certain antibiotics, blood thinners).
• Surgical & anesthesia planning
• Airway management, equipment size, and anesthetic safety sometimes depend on weight.
• Nutrition assessment
• When looking at growth in pediatrics, malnutrition, or unexplained weight changes that may point to another condition (e.g., thyroid disease, cancer).
• Pregnancy & pediatrics
• Weight tracking is important for fetal growth, infant development, and safe pregnancy management.
• Heart failure, kidney disease, liver disease
• Fluid retention can be tracked by monitoring daily weights.
• Significant unexplained change
• Rapid weight loss or gain can be a symptom worth investigating.
🚫 Times When Weight Is Not Clinically Relevant
• Broken bones, sprains, or acute injuries
• Ear infections, hearing loss, sore throats, or colds
• Skin rashes (unless specifically weight-related, like intertrigo)
• Mental health visits where weight isn’t part of the presenting problem
• Any visit where weight is not discussed, not assessed, and not related to the complaint
👉 Your weight should only be part of care when it’s medically necessary for safety/diagnosis, or when you want it included. Otherwise, it doesn’t belong.
Highlighting weight at every visit isn’t helpful.
It’s harmful.
It reduces people to a number, feeds stigma, and distracts from the real reason they came in.
