"Sick" patients So I work in a hospital where too many of the patients and staff are obese. We can't afford to keep going this way. A few things noticed on different wards: Orthopedics 2 types of patients 1. Elderly 90 year olds who actually need a new joint Vascular surgery 2 types of patients People with rare conditions Obese young people who ate so badly they gave themselves diabetes, and now their limbs are rotting and require amputation / vascular stenting (majority) Respiratory has 3 types smokers people with conditions (unlucky minority) obese smokers Geriatrics Elderly 90 year olds with good independence, still walking with a stick Obese 60 year olds who can't go to the bathroom to use the toilet. They never live to 90.  Colorectal surgery Young patients with appendicitis Fat people who ate poorly and developed colon cancer Endocrine young people with bad luck people who have eaten themselves sick and don't care It is awful to operate on obese patients - one time I saw poor medical students having to just hold the incision sites open with a 'J' shaped hook, just to keep the rest of the fat away so the surgeons could reach inside and do their job. So yeah, just a rant.... Most people are in hospital because they did it to themselves. And one quick story A vascular patient was fat, racist, diabetic type 2 who predictably got an ulcer, and didn't have the blood supply to heal it. Oh and he treated staff like dirt (most of these nurses are highly skilled and thin from running around doing actual work). He shared a room with a non English speaking Arabic man who was pleasant and tried his best to be friendly + assist the staff.  The fat racially abused the patient who thankfully couldn't understand most of what was being said. The patient's son complained and the nurses moved the fat to his own room. I wondered why they didn't just give the nice Arabic guy the single room.  Later I found out they got serious revenge on him. Were late with his pain medications, were rough changing the bandages and dressings, told their friends on night shift who went in and kicked his bed every hour to wake him up. Yeah, don't mess with nurses when you can't look after yourself.