March 17th, 2010

NY Times reports:

Doctors recognize obesity as a health problem. So why is it so hard for them to talk to their patients about it?

A new report released on Tuesday by the STOP Obesity Alliance, a collaboration of consumer, provider, government, labor and business groups, suggests both doctors and patients are frustrated with the conversations they’re having about weight.

The results of two surveys, one of primary care physicians and the other of patients, found that while most doctors want to help patients lose weight and think it is their responsibility to do so, they often don’t know what to say. The vast majority of doctors have little or no training in weight management and nutrition and, they say, they’re not likely to have anyone else in their practice who can be of help.

So while doctors may tell patients they are overweight, the conversation often ends there, said Christine C. Ferguson, director of the alliance. “It’s like going to the doctor and being told, ‘Oh, your blood sugar is high,’ and that’s the end of the conversation,” without being told about options for diabetes, she said. “Doctors don’t feel they have good information to give. They felt they didn’t have adequate tools to address this problem.”

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