 |
|
Who Reports Receiving Advice to Lose Weight?
Results From a Multistate Survey
Christopher N. Sciamanna, MD, MPH;
Deborah F. Tate, MS;
Wei Lang, PhD;
Rena R. Wing, PhD
Arch Intern Med. 2000;160:2334-2339.
Background Overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent in the United States. The prevalence of health care provider advice to lose weight is not clear.
Methods We examined the percentage of individuals who reported being advised to lose weight by a health care practitioner in the past year by population subgroup. Participants were individuals in the 10 states participating in the 1996 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which assessed advice to lose weight, hypertension awareness, and cholesterol awareness.
Results The prevalence of reporting advice to lose weight was most strongly associated with body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) and weight-related comorbidities. In individuals with a BMI of 25 to 27, only 5.6% of those with no comorbidities and 13.6% of those with comorbidities received advice. These rates were increased to 32.4% and 47.3%, respectively, in those with a BMI greater than 30. Middle-aged individuals, those with more education, and those living in the northeast were also more likely to receive advice. Receiving advice to maintain weight was reported by only 2.5% of respondents. Receiving advice to lose weight was strongly associated with trying to lose weight, especially in those with a BMI of 25 to 27, where 77.5% who received advice reported trying to lose weight vs 33.4% of those who did not receive advice.
Conclusions Advice to lose weight is uncommon and is given primarily to those who are already obese, are middle-aged, and have comorbidities. Practitioners may be missing important opportunities to counsel mildly overweight individuals to lose weight or to maintain their weight and thereby prevent comorbidities.
From the Department of Psychiatry, The Miriam Hospital and Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI (Drs Sciamanna and Wing and Ms Tate); Department of Community Health, Brown University School of Medicine (Dr Sciamanna); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pa (Drs Lang and Wing).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
Archives of Internal Medicine Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Intern Med. 2000;160(15):2404.
FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
The Complexity of Weight Loss Counseling
Greenwood
J Am Board Fam Med 2009;22:113-114.
FULL TEXT
What Do Physicians Recommend To Their Overweight and Obese Patients?
Phelan et al.
J Am Board Fam Med 2009;22:115-122.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Public perception of overweight
Bleich
BMJ 2008;337:a347-a347.
FULL TEXT
Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Primary Care Practice: Current Evidence and Future Directions
Simkin-Silverman et al.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE 2008;2:296-304.
ABSTRACT
State of the Art Reviews: Patient and Physician Communication About Weight Management: Can We Close the Gap?
Beran et al.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE 2008;2:75-83.
ABSTRACT
State of the Art Reviews: Relationship Between Diet/ Physical Activity and Health
O'Neil and Nicklas
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE 2007;1:457-481.
ABSTRACT
Diagnosis of Obesity by Primary Care Physicians and Impact on Obesity Management
Bardia et al.
Mayo Clin Proc. 2007;82:927-932.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Parental Ability to Discriminate the Weight Status of Children: Results of a Survey
Huang et al.
Pediatrics 2007;120:e112-e119.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
The Escalating Pandemics of Obesity and Sedentary Lifestyle: A Call to Action for Clinicians
Manson et al.
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:249-258.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Physician Weight Counseling for Adolescents
Saelens et al.
CLIN PEDIATR 2002;41:575-585.
ABSTRACT
|
