Encouraging a healthy weight has become essential in Korea.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, about 26.5 percent of women and 35.6 percent of men are considered to be either overweight or obese by WHO standards. Health authorities have estimated that the domestic weight loss industry will reach around 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion).

The World Health Organization regards those with a body mass index between 25 and 30 as overweight and those over 30 as obese.

But if you are obese, your doctor is less likely to advise weight loss if they are overweight themselves, a study suggested Wednesday.

Doctors with a healthy weight are more likely to show a stricter yet objective point of view in drawing out the weight loss plan, revealed Sara Bleich of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Bleich’s team studied 500 primary care physicians in the U.S. and found that doctors’ own sizes influenced how they approached patients with weight issues.

About 93 percent of obese doctors diagnosed their patients with obesity only when they believed their own weight was equal to or less than that of their patients. Therefore only 7 percent of doctors who believed their weight exceeded that of their patients would diagnose their patients as obese.

In this context, the study result implies that overweight or obese doctors may not address the recommended healthy level of weight to their patients and may overlook an opportunity to provide information about how to avoid health diseases, diabetes, hypertension and joint disorders that are associated with being overweight.

Time Healthland noted that obese doctors may be sending the wrong message about weight to their patients, who might rationalize their own size if their doctors look the same way as they do.

“For me, the results raise a lot of questions,” Bleich was quoted as saying to the magazine.

“I’d be surprised if this behavior is intentional. I think a lot of it is subconscious. What this study suggests is that physical attributes of physicians have a much bigger contribution to their care of patients than I realized before.”

The diet industry here may have not heard of Bleich’s theory yet but seem to have adopted it already through experience.

Lee Soo-jin, who is an assistant at a Seoul-based diet center using Oriental medicine, said she was told by her superior to keep in shape to give credibility to visitors.

“How could you tell that you can help them lose weight when you cannot manage your own? That’s what my manager told me,” she said.

Bae Ji-sun, a 30-year-old woman who occasionally visits clinics for weight management despite her willowy figure, said she agrees with the report.

“If you are looking for the best coiffeur, you would expect him or her to be wearing the signature look. If you visit a dermatologist, you would expect the doctor to have a glowing skin tone. That’s the same with a diet doctor,” she said.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)