can i have the honest truth

well i'm not that big so if she can get in then i guess i could too with a lot of effort!

There you go then and she is not the biggest med student I've seen either. Didn't you watch Junior Doctors? That guy was huge! He struggled to make it to crash calls!!

To be totally honest, I would be more concerned about the actual application rather than your weight. Seriously. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

ahh thanks, i'm worried about everything, it's kind of what i do, i try to be as thorough as i can when researching things without going into it blindly with no information. you've been really helpful though, much appreciated!

A good friend of mine managed to lose weight by having an exercise bike in front of the tv. You might as well sit on a bike and pedal, he reasoned, than sit on the sofa. Maybe worth a try?

Some medical schools don't even interview, so they probably wouldn't know if you were overweight. I'm not saying that you should restrict yourself to these medical schools by the way, I really doubt that they'd discriminate on the basis of your weight. I know someone fairly overweight who starts in September and she had 3 offers, if that helps.

As others have said, although universities aren't allowed to discriminate candidates based on things like this, that doesn't mean it can't happen. As a med student they'd expect you to be health conscious - it'd be pretty hard for you to convince a patient to lose weight if you are obese yourself. Imagine being nagged to quit smoking by a chain smoker. It's like if you wanted to be a beauty therapist, the people interviewing you are more likely to lean towards the better-presented, immaculate-looking candidate as opposed to the slightly scruffy looking one, regardless of if they of the same ability. It's unfair, but it's life.

I don't think you should give up on medicine because of this. If anything, the situation you're in provides you with a massive incentive to lose weight and help you achieve your goal! You can use it to your advantage, too, as you can say you have had personal experience with weight loss which could be helpful when advising patients to lose weight. It won't be easy, but just think how good you'll feel - not only physically but also emotionally / mentally as you'll have (in my opinion, and I think others agree with me) a better chance of getting onto your course.


I hope this helps, and good luck whatever you decide to do.

Well, Jon Barclay got in.

[video="youtube;TVjQ6CBLXXg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjQ6CBLXXg[/video]

Also if I were obese I think I'd kind of rather talk to an obese doctor about it than a thin one (assuming, of course, that they were equally qualified etc)

Your avatar lied to me.

Come to think of it I've never seen a fat doctor. I guess it doesn't set a good example. I mean imagine a 300lb fatass trying to convince a patient to lose weight. It would be like a doctor telling someone to stop smoking while hes puffing on a cigarette. Also you can't do anything financial if you have bad credit because if you cant look after your own finances how are you going to look after someone elses? Same goes for health. Plus you have to be medically fit to be a doctor for some reason. probably to do with being physically able to cope with the demands. I don't think it would be discrimination because you could argue that obesity is not a natural look but a medical condition and you can ban people from certain jobs based on their medical condition.

thankyou, that's really helpful, i think that's what i've basically gathered from everyone's answers, would rep you but apparently reached my limit :'( thanks for sparing time for the advice though, i'll keep at it and hope for the best! *fingers crossed*

In my class at medical school there are quite a few people who are overweight and also a few who are clearly underweight. As long as you are medically fit then they will pick the best candidates. The only stumbling block I can imagine is that medical schools often like candidates who are involved in sporting activities (not that I'm saying that overweight people can't play sport :P).
In any case you do have time to lose at least some of the weight and so good luck to you.
Slightly off topic but it is surprising how little medical schools seems to care about medical conditions. We all had HIV tests at the start and they said that it was likely that at least one of us would test positive (not me luckily :P), and that this would not stop them continuing. They are also happy to take candidates who have mental health issues or psychiatric disorder as long as they are not a danger to colleagues and patients.

ahh thanks, well that sucks cos i actually don't do any real sport, now and then i do badminton but that doesn't even count!
that's interesting, maybe they're trying to not be prejudiced or discriminate against those with a few health issues, i would imagine that if someone had a psychiatric disorder and they were allowed to continue then it won't be very severe and will be under control by some drugs or other treatments.

To be honest playing badminton occasionally is enough to put on your personal statement if you claim that it helps you relax and taught you to keep trying and you will improve at things (or some other rubbish that turns up on PS :P).

i've actually googled this for hints and searched uni websites thoroughly but none seem to mention it. if you're overweight and potentially obese, do you have a really low chance of getting into medical school?
i want the honest answer because i'm pretty sure i'll be disadvantaged with this, i am currently trying to work on my weight and i would like to know if this will or will not be an important factor in my application so i don't end up wasting my time applying. i would be so grateful if anyone replies