Physical Therapists’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practice Approaches Regarding People Who Are Obese

Abstract

The results suggested that physical therapists have neutral attitudes toward people who are obese. Physical therapists appropriately indicated that lack of physical activity and poor nutritional habits contribute to obesity. Younger respondents, who had recently entered the work force, had higher knowledge scores than respondents who were older and had worked longer. Improvements in physical therapists' referral patterns may assist in the health care team approach to the treatment of obesity. Education to enhance physical therapists' knowledge about obesity should be emphasized.

Achieving Consensus on Recommendations for the Clinical Management of Overweight and Obese Adults for Canadian Physiotherapy Practice

“…Physiotherapist involvement in obesity prevention and management is still in the early stages of development, and therapists may not yet have formed opinions about their specific roles or may lack confidence in performing obesity-related strategies. 38 Physiotherapists' self-efficacy is a predictor of perceptions of practice patterns. 39 This lack of confidence may partially explain our difficulty in recruiting participants for this study who considered obesity prevention and management to be part of their role.…”

Weight stigma in physiotherapy practice: Patient perceptions of interactions with physiotherapists

“…A variety of health professionals exhibit weight stigma including doctors (Sabin et al, 2012), nurses (Mulherin et al, 2013), exercise scientists (Chambliss et al, 2004) and dieticians (Stone and Werner, 2012). Sack et al (2009) reported that physiotherapists had neutral attitudes to people who are obese, despite finding over 50% believed people who are obese were weak-willed, non-compliant and unattractive. These results suggest physiotherapists likewise possess negative stereotypes of overweight people.…”

Association of Body Mass Index With Self-Report and Performance-Based Measures of Balance and Mobility

“…35 To effectively manage individuals who are overweight, physical therapists must be able to utilize and interpret obesity measures.…”

“…In a recent study of physical therapists' knowledge of obesity, the majority believed that identifying obesity was within their scope of practice. 35 Furthermore, most therapists recognized that exercise and diet are key components of a weight loss program. Despite these findings, the researchers concluded that physical therapists lacked the knowledge about the use of the BMI as an indicator for identifying obesity…”