Health-related quality of life among obese persons seeking and not currently seeking treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To compare sociodemographic characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQL) between groups of obese persons who sought and did not seek university-based treatment for overweight.


METHODS
Three-hundred twelve consecutive obese persons sought outpatient university-based weight management treatment. The sample of obese persons (N = 89) who indicated that they were not currently trying to lose weight was derived from a larger convenience sample (N = 232) of persons surveyed in a hospital setting. Both groups completed sociodemographic and brief medical history questionnaires and the HRQL as measured by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36).


RESULTS
Obese persons who had sought treatment tended to be heavier, older, Caucasian, married, in white collar employment, and reported a higher prevalence of diabetes, hypertension, and pain. In multivariate analyses, both adjusted and unadjusted for these differences, obese persons who had sought treatment were significantly more impaired on the bodily pain, general health, and vitality HRQL domains than those who were not trying to lose weight.


CONCLUSIONS
Although differences on sociodemographic and medical variables between the two groups may attenuate the obesity-HRQL relationship somewhat, obesity appears to have a pronounced impact on important dimensions of HRQL independent of whether or not the person is attempting to lose weight
Fontaine
K R
KR
Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21224-6805, USA. krf@jhmi.edu
Bartlett
S J
SJ
Barofsky
I
I
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors