Obesity an Increasing Obstacle to Medical Diagnosis

This press release from the Radiological Society of North America discusses the problem of radiographic diagnoses in obese people.
The increase of obesity in the United States doubled the number of inconclusive diagnostic imaging exams over a 15-year period, according to a study featured in the August issue of Radiology. Researchers assessed all radiology exams performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) between 1989 and 2003 to determine the effects of obesity on imaging quality and diagnosis.
Similarly, when trying to perform a physical exam on an obese person heart sounds, breath sounds and intra-abdominal organs are difficult to detect, reducing the physician's ability to diagnose problems. I remember one patient who was so obese I could not detect a 7 month pregnancy