Obesity, Patients, & Physicians: Where do Attitudes Differ?
More than 50% of patients with obesity say weight loss is a priority for them. What percentage of their physicians feel the same? #ObesityCareWeek
More than 50% of people with obesity (PwO) "completely agree" that weight loss is a high priority for them and yet just over one-quarter (28%) of healthcare professionals (HCPs) completely agree that losing weight is a high priority for their patients with obesity.That discrepancy in acutal (PwO) vs perceived (HCP) motivation is one small example of the type of barriers that stand between PwO and successfull weight loss effort. In recognition of Obesity Care Week, March 1-7, 2020, Patient Care reveiwed results from the ACTION (Awareness, Care, and Treatment in Obesity maNagement) study and found many other areas where PwO and HCPs differ on the topic of obesity and weight loss. The short slide show below offers highlights.
Whose responsibility is it? Most PwO (82%) felt “completely” responsible for their weight and for losing weight. Close to three-quarters (72%) of HCPS "completely agreed" that they do have a responsibility to play a part in a patient's weight loss effort. Resutls also showed that less than one-quarter of PwO (21%) agreed their HCP has a responsibility to actively contribute to a successful weight loss effort.
I can do it/they can do it. Nearly two-thirds of PwO completely agreed that with determination, they could lose weight; A bit over half of HCPs completely agreed that their patients could really lose weight if they put their mind to it.
Is wieght loss a priority? More than half of PwO ‘completely agreed’ that losing weight is a high priority for them but only slightly more than one-quarter of HCPs believed the same regarding their patients.
Motivation to lose weight. Only 20% of physicians completely agreed that their patients with obesity were motivated to lose weight while twice that percentage of PwO completely agreed they were motivated to do so.
Keeping weight off. More than half (54%) of PwO somewhat or strongly believed that it wouldn't be hard to sustain weight loss; less than one-quarter (23%) of HCPs expressed the same level of agreement about the ease of losing weight for a patient.
had the believed they could lose weight ifthey set their mind to it (Figure 1), but only about half (56%)agreed they know how to lose weight. L
It can't be done. There was less discordance than on other points between PwOs' and HCPs' agreement that the former was past the point where weight loss was possible Only 9% of PwO and 10% of HCPs completely agreed with the notion. Close to three-quarters (73%) of PwOs and two-thirds of HCPs did NOT agree that this point had been passed for themselves or their patients, respectively.
Weight satisfaction. PwO were signficantly more likely to disagree that they were happy with their current weight than HCPs reported regarding their own patients (80% PwO vs 55% HCPs). The study also found that most PwO (85%) were at least ‘somewhat’ worried about the effect of their weight on their future health.
For more Patient Care coverage of the ACTION study, see Obesity Attitudes and Perceptions: A Quiz
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