I found
this article today, which addresses this case. It gives us a little more information:
- The speech the doctor gave is what he calls "an obesity lecture for women" that he uses to get the attention of obese female patients.
- He tells them that they are likely to outlive their (obese) spouses and then find themselves alone because men don't go for obese women.
- He tells them about some of the health risks of obesity.
- He'd seen this patient "five or six times".
- He had talked to her about her weight before, but she kept gaining. She has also developed diabetes, gastroesophageal reflux, and chest pains.
- He's given this speech to other obese female patients, including one (mentioned in the OP) who is defending his actions.
In this particular case, the doctor did the right thing by giving her a good kick in the @$$. She's obese and now diabetic. More than likely, she is in denial that she even has a problem. The fact that she complained to the state indicates this - she didn't like the message, so she's out to get the messenger.
I would have much more of a problem with the doctor's "obesity lecture" if he used it routinely with women (or men) to whom he had not spoken before about their weight. I'm not obese - but if I were, and I walked in as a new patient, and the first thing I heard from that doctor was that lecture, it would also be the last thing I heard from him. I'd also have a problem if the weight gain were due to extenuating circumstances such as pregnancy - if I'd just had a baby, the last thing I'd need to hear is "You are obese, you need to get on a program." (Although, presumably, the doctor would know about the pregnancy.)
But
in this case, the doctor was facing a woman who steadfastly ignored his advice to lose weight, and indeed kept gaining weight. She needed the wake-up call.