Adult weight management: translating research and guidelines into practice.
OBJECTIVE
To provide a practical approach to managing overweight and obese adult patients based on data from research and recommendations from established guidelines.


METHODS
Comprehensive review articles and original research articles identified through Medline and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL).


CONCLUSIONS
There is a great deal of research being conducted on new ways to treat obesity; however, despite all this new information, many primary care providers continue to report that they do not address weight or weight control strategies with their patients. Reasons include too little time, not enough training, lack of financial incentive, and failure to believe that patients can be successful.


CONCLUSIONS
Weight management essentially comes down to one key concept: negative energy balance (fewer calories in and/or more calories out). Patients can be taught how to achieve a negative energy balance by using a food/exercise diary to track their daily caloric goal to achieve a 1-2 pound weight loss per week. Nurse practitioners (NPs) can implement safe and effective weight management plans for their patients by teaching them how to self-monitor, eat healthy, and exercise. This method is similar to what NPs commonly use for patients with diabetes mellitus.
Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA. laura.shay@fda.hhs.gov
Laura E
LE
Shay
Jennifer L
JL
Shobert
Diane
D
Seibert
Lauren E
LE
Thomas
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015431:Weight Loss