Do family physicians treat obese patients?
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to characterize what patient and physician factors increase the likelihood of physicians counseling weight loss in their overweight patients.


METHODS
A retrospective chart survey of 418 outpatient charts from 50 family medicine residents and faculty was conducted.


RESULTS
Of the 267 patients who were overweight based on a body mass index score of more than 27, only 29.6% had been instructed to lose weight. Overweight patients with hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or coronary artery disease were instructed to lose weight 32.9% of the time. Patient age or sex and physician age, sex, or level of training did not affect the frequency of treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians need to be more aggressive in their counseling of overweight patients.
Heath
C
C
Department of Family Medicine, State University of New York, Health Science Center, Syracuse.
Grant
W
W
Marcheni
P
P
Kamps
C
C
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies