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verweight and obesity are a growing global public health problem (1). Epidemiological analyses have projected that overweight will be one of the top 4 global causes of preventable years of life lost in the future, besides hypertension, diabetes, and smoking (2). Already in 2007, the social costs of overweight amounted to 16 billion Pound Sterling in the United Kingdom (corresponding to 1% of their gross national product), with a strong upward trend. According to guideline recommendations on the prevention of myocardial infarction, stroke, and diabetes, physicians should offer lifestyle interventions to their overweight patients (3, 4). The 13 th nutrition report of the German Nutrition Society (DGE, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung e. V.) highlights the need to stop this obesity epidemic in Germany and calls for urgent action (5).According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016 worldwide 39% of adults were overweight with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , while 11% of men and 15% of women were obese with a BMI of ≥ 30 kg/m 2 (6). The prevalence of obesity is high in Germany. Of the adult population, 54% have a BMI of ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and 18% of >30 kg/m 2 (7). In the United States, prevalence rates are even higher, with 36% of the population being obese (8).For weight-loss interventions to be successful, people need to be aware of the fact that they are overweight; without this awareness, a behavioral change is unlikely to happen (9-11). The agreement between self-perception and measured weight status has already been evaluated in numerous studies on a variety of populations; however, an aggregation of these data for the general adult population is missing.The aim of this review is to organize the available data from studies on weight perception in adults, to identify areas that need to be addressed in future research, and to provide summarized answers to the following questions:• How often is the self-perceived BMI categorization accurate?• Is misclassification based on overestimation or underestimation?• What groups of persons show good weight selfperception and what groups do not? SummaryBackground: Overweight and obesity are an increasingly serious public health problem in Western societies, including Germany. The tendency of overweight and obese people not to classify themselves as such limits the efficacy of information on the health risks of these conditions and lessens the motivation to change behavior accordingly. In this article, we summarize the available study data on the selfperception of weight class. We present and discuss the differences between selfreported body-mass index (BMI) category and the actual category of the BMI when it is calculated from the individual's measured height and weight.Methods: We systematically searched the Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases in August 2017 for pertinent publications. The study protocol was published in the PROSPERO register (CRD42017064230). Meta-analyses were calculable for a number of subgroup analyses.Results: A total of 50 st...

BackgroundWorldwide, many undergraduate general practice curricula include community-based courses at general practitioners’ (GPs’) offices. Usually the academic general practice departments collaborate with networks of affiliated teaching practices. To successfully master the challenge of network development and extension, more information is needed about GPs’ willingness to be involved in different teaching formats, important influencing factors, incentives, barriers, and the need for financial compensation.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study a questionnaire survey was conducted among all GPs working in Leipzig and environs (German postal code area 04). In addition to descriptive statistics, group comparisons and logistic regression were performed to reveal differences between GPs with and without an interest in teaching.ResultsResponse rate was 45.3% with 339 analyzable questionnaires. The average age was 52.0 years and 58.4% were women. Sixty-two participants stated that they were already involved in teaching undergraduates. Altogether 60.1% of all GPs and 53.5% among those who didn’t teach yet were basically interested in being involved in undergraduate education. The interested GPs could imagine devoting on average 6.9 h per month to teaching activities. GPs interested in teaching were on average younger, were more actively involved in continuing education and professional associations, and more frequently had pre-existing teaching experiences. The willingness to teach differed substantially among teaching formats. GPs were more willing to teach at their own practices rather than at university venues and they preferred skills-oriented content. Comprehensive organization on the part of the university including long-term scheduling and available teaching materials was rated as most important to increase the attractiveness of teaching. Time restraints and decreased productivity were rated as the most important barriers. Interested GPs appreciated financial compensation, particularly for teaching at university venues, and demanded amounts of money corresponding to German GPs’ hourly income.ConclusionsThe GPs’ interest in undergraduate teaching is generally high indicating a substantial pool of potential preceptors. Recruitment strategies should consider the collaboration with institutions involved in residency and continuing education as well as with professional associations. Comprehensive organization by the responsible department should be promoted and time restraints and decreased productivity should be overtly addressed and financially compensated.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1445-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: Several studies report a substantial impact of financial considerations on the process of specialty choice and the willingness to establish one's own practice. In Germany, reliable information on self-employed physicians' earning opportunities is basically available, but not easily accessible and understandable for medical students. Misperceptions might contribute to recruitment problems in some fields, particularly in general practice. In order to identify a possible need for action, we investigated current German medical students' level of information regarding future earnings, and whether net earnings of general practitioners and other physicians working self-employed are estimated realistically. Additionally, we explored students' self-assessments regarding the extent of the impact of expected earnings on their personal career choice process. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey among fourth year (of six) medical students at one medical school (Leipzig). The participants estimated the net earnings of different physicians working self-employed. These estimations were compared with actual earnings data derived from a large German practice panel. Results: Response rate was 73.6% (231/314). The participants' mean age was 24.9 years and 59.1% were women. On a 10-point scale ranging from 1 = 'no influence' to 10='very big influence', 92.6% of the participants described at least some (≥2) influence of earning expectations on their career choice process, and 66.2% stated this influence to be 5 or higher. Every fourth student (26.4%) would rather or definitely reject a certain specialty because of expected low earning opportunities. While 60.4% had already thought about future earnings, only 26.8% had obtained concrete information. Compared with the data derived from the practice panel, the participants substantially underestimated the earning opportunities in self-employed settings, including general practice (median: 4500 vs. 6417€). However, depending on the single estimations, between 87.7 and 95.6% of the students stated they were 'rather uncertain' or 'very uncertain' regarding their estimations. Conclusions: Despite confirming a relevant impact of financial considerations on career choice, German fourth year medical students are not well informed about earning opportunities in self-employed settings. Providing easily understandable information could enhance transparency and might help students to consider financial issues of career choice on a realistic basis.

ObjectivesThis study investigates students’ adoption of LeiKA, a new extracurricular longitudinal general practice (GP) teaching project. LeiKA aims to attract a broad range of students, not only those who are already planning to become GPs. This study compares participants’ and non-participants’ characteristics, career preferences and job-related value orientations to assess the programme’s initial potential to increase the number of students subsequently entering GP careers. Additionally, students’ motives for taking part in the programme were explored.DesignWe analysed administrative data and data from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey for the first three cohorts. LeiKA participants were compared with non-participants regarding baseline characteristics, career intentions and attitudes associated with GP careers. There was also a qualitative analysis of the reasons for taking part.SettingFaculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany.ParticipantsFirst-semester medical students in the years 2016–2018.ResultsIn the first 3 years, 86 of 90 LeiKA slots were taken, 9.0% (n=86/960) of those eligible to apply. LeiKA participants were a mean of 0.6 years older (LeiKA: 21.5 vs whole cohort: 20.9 years, p<0.001) and slightly more interested in long-term doctor–patient relationships (3.6 vs 3.3, scale from 1 ‘unimportant’ to 5 ‘very important’, p=0.018), but did not differ regarding other characteristics and attitudes. Although more participants definitely favoured a GP career (13.1% vs 4.9%, p=0.001), it was a possible option for most students in both groups (78.6% vs 74.0%). Early acquisition of skills and patient contact were the main motives for taking part, stated by 60.7% and 41.7% of the participants, respectively.ConclusionsThe extracurricular programme was taken up by a broad range of students, indicating its potential to attract more students to become GPs. The reasons for taking part that we identified may guide the planning of other similar projects.