If you’re like most people, you’ve probably stretched the truth at a doctor’s appointment. That could look like lying about how much you drink each week, how much you exercise, your depression symptoms or your thoughts on taking a new medication.
In fact, a University of Utah study found that anywhere from 60% to 80% of adults lie to their doctors about their lifestyle habits.
Failing to disclose your full health picture to your doctor can harm your well-being, making these kinds of omissions particularly dangerous. Of course, there are many reasons why people omit the truth; they may lie because they’re afraid of a lecture, wary of a new prescription or afraid of judgment from a doctor.
“People really think that doctors judge them and are going to look at them differently and treat them differently if they know some of this information about their habits, good or bad,” said Dr. Katie Freeman, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “But we really don’t care. We don’t have time to judge people. We really want to know so that we can figure out what that next step looks like.”
Keeping things from your doctor only makes their job harder and jeopardizes your health. Below, doctors share the topics they really wish patients would stop lying about and why it’s so harmful to do so:
