Physicians' attitudes about obesity and their associations with competency and specialty: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Physicians frequently report negative attitudes about obesity which is thought to affect patient care. However, little is known about how attitudes toward treating obese patients are formed. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of physicians in order to better characterize their attitudes and explore the relationships among attitudes, perceived competency in obesity care, including report of weight loss in patients, and other key physician, training, and practice characteristics.

The effect of dentists’ body-weight size on student social judgments of dental skill and patients’ behavioural intentions: A vignette study

“…For example, a systematic review concluded that HCPs, such as doctors and nurses, possess negative attitudes towards obese patients (8). Similar findings have been reported extensively in other studies of different HCP groups and across a range of clinical settings and countries (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21).…”

“…On the basis of these findings, it would appear that, whilst people may be influenced by the HCPs' body weight-size in medical settings (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21), dentists seem to be treated differently to other HCPs in this respect. There may be several reasons for this.…”

Managing obesity in adults in primary care

“…In a study by Jay and colleagues, 44 45% of physicians said they did not feel qualified to treat obesity. According to the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent Obesity Alliance, 45 72% of primary care physicians surveyed said that no one in their practice was trained to deal with weight-related issues.…”

Changes in weight bias following weight loss: the impact of weight-loss method

“…4 Obese individuals are commonly stereotyped as being lazy, sloppy, incompetent, and as lacking self-control and willpower. 5 Negative attitudes and stereotypes of obese people are found both explicitly and implicitly, 6,7 and are observed in the general population, 8 as well as among children, 9 health care professionals 10,11 and obese individuals themselves. 12 Weight loss among individuals who are overweight and obese has clear benefits in terms of reducing their risk of the medical consequences associated with excess weight, 13,14 but what impact does weight loss have on weight bias?…”