A recent review in Clinical Obesity assessed patients’ reactions to consultations with physicians in which excess weight could have been or was discussed.
A recent review in Clinical Obesity assessed patients’ reactions to consultations with physicians in which excess weight could have been or was discussed. In the review of 21 qualitative studies interviewing people who were overweight or obese who had consulted a primary care clinician, participants had only occasional interactions with clinicians about their weight, and the most important and most commonly reported were negative experiences.
Where interactions addressed weight, the language used, the tone of the consultation, and the nature of the advice were critical. Participants reported being given advice that was unhelpful or that implied they were stupid. On occasions, participants reported discussions about weight loss options available and this was universally appreciated. No one appreciated being scolded about being overweight or made to feel personally responsible for symptoms potentially related to weight. Some participants felt their health problems were dismissed as obviously weight-related and left unexplored and untreated as a result.
“People with excess body weight are often judged negatively by others and are highly sensitized to the doctor or nurse doing so. Doctors and nurses should remember that people often know what they should do and are looking for support in how to achieve this,” said senior author Paul Aveyard, PhD, MRCP, FRCGP, FFPH, of the University of Oxford, in the UK.
Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cob.12347
About Journal
Clinical Obesity is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high quality translational and clinical research papers and reviews focussing on obesity and its co-morbidities.
Key areas of interest are:
• Patient assessment, classification, diagnosis and prognosis
• Drug treatments, clinical trials and supporting research
• Bariatric surgery and follow-up issues
• Surgical approaches to remove body fat
• Pharmacological, dietary and behavioural approaches for weight loss
• Clinical physiology
• Clinically relevant epidemiology
• Psychological aspects of obesity
• Co-morbidities
• Nursing and care of patients with obesity.
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