TY - JOUR
T1 - Current Knowledge of Obesity Treatment Guidelines by Health Care Professionals
AU - Turner, Monique
AU - Jannah, Nichole
AU - Kahan, Scott
AU - Gallagher, Christine
AU - Dietz, William
N1 - Funding Information:
See Commentary, pg. 631. Funding agencies: This research was conducted with grant support from Eisai Co. Ltd., Ethicon US LLD, Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi US LLC, and Weight Watchers International Inc. Disclosure: SK reports personal fees from Novo Nordisk, Orexigen, Eisai, and Rhythm, outside the submitted work; WD serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Weight Watchers and reports personal fees from RTI, outside the submitted work. The other authors declared no conflict of interest. Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Received: 31 August 2017; Accepted: 18 January 2018; Published online 23 March 2018. doi:10.1002/oby.22142
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Obesity Society
PY - 2018/4
Y1 - 2018/4
N2 - Objective: The objective of this study was to assess health care professionals' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the nonsurgical treatment of obesity. Methods: A nationally representative sample of internists, family practitioners, obstetricians/gynecologists, and nurse practitioners completed a web-based survey between June 9 and July 1, 2016 (n = 1,506). Results: Only 16% of respondents indicated that obesity counseling should be provided approximately twice monthly in an individual or group setting for at least 6 months, in accordance with United States Preventive Services Task Force and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines. Only 15% of respondents identified BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with an obesity-associated comorbid condition as the appropriate indication to prescribe pharmacotherapy for patients. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that it is appropriate to continue long-term pharmacotherapy under conditions inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines, with nearly one-quarter indicating that obesity medications should never be prescribed beyond 3 months regardless of weight loss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that provider understanding of appropriate clinical care for obesity is inconsistent with evidence-based recommendations. As coverage for behavioral counseling services and pharmacotherapy expands, it is imperative that health care professionals understand how to effectively leverage these treatment modalities to optimize health outcomes for patients with obesity.
AB - Objective: The objective of this study was to assess health care professionals' knowledge of evidence-based guidelines for the nonsurgical treatment of obesity. Methods: A nationally representative sample of internists, family practitioners, obstetricians/gynecologists, and nurse practitioners completed a web-based survey between June 9 and July 1, 2016 (n = 1,506). Results: Only 16% of respondents indicated that obesity counseling should be provided approximately twice monthly in an individual or group setting for at least 6 months, in accordance with United States Preventive Services Task Force and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidelines. Only 15% of respondents identified BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with an obesity-associated comorbid condition as the appropriate indication to prescribe pharmacotherapy for patients. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that it is appropriate to continue long-term pharmacotherapy under conditions inconsistent with evidence-based guidelines, with nearly one-quarter indicating that obesity medications should never be prescribed beyond 3 months regardless of weight loss. Conclusions: These findings suggest that provider understanding of appropriate clinical care for obesity is inconsistent with evidence-based recommendations. As coverage for behavioral counseling services and pharmacotherapy expands, it is imperative that health care professionals understand how to effectively leverage these treatment modalities to optimize health outcomes for patients with obesity.
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U2 - 10.1002/oby.22142
DO - 10.1002/oby.22142
M3 - Article
C2 - 29570250
AN - SCOPUS:85044251485
SN - 1930-7381
VL - 26
SP - 665
EP - 671
JO - Obesity
JF - Obesity
IS - 4
ER -