Formerly obese cardiologist recounts painful reaction - from colleagues

It is perhaps telling that Joseph Majdan waited until he was thin to vent his frustration at fellow doctors who made his life miserable when he was fat.

The cardiologist and assistant professor will say only that the poignant essay he has written for the Annals of Internal Medicine - "Memoirs of an Obese Physician" - was a long time coming.

"I've always thought about writing this article because it haunted me and it was a story that I think had to be told," he said last week in his office at Jefferson Medical College, where he was surrounded by pictures of his family, his dogs and of him when he looked twice as big as many of his friends. He said a combination of improved self-esteem and encouragement from his nutritionist led him to finally finish the article he started 10 years ago.