"I want to worry about it:" How the drive to optimize health turns people away from their doctors.

Many Americans believe that they should actively work to improve their health through lifestyle choices, proactive screening, and preventive care. What happens when they approach medicine not simply as a system for treating illness, but as a partner in their efforts to optimize their health? Drawing on 60 in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of American adults and an original survey (n = 2084), I find that after internalizing ideas about health promotion from multiple sources, many patients perceive their physicians to be insufficiently invested in helping them optimize their health. Multiple respondents were shocked and disappointed when their doctors didn't provide concrete advice about specific supplements, tailored diets, and exercise plans. Many responded by turning to alternative care providers. These findings show how health promotion discourses can ironically contribute to the ongoing decline of medical authority.