Weight Loss Strategies That Really Work E-Book

It’s not only obese patients who are resistant to weight loss strategies. Many physicians contribute to the gap between current practice and optimal management of adult obesity, as well. Th ere are a number of reasons for this—a dearth of knowledge, time, and reimbursement among them.

1,2 What’s more, physicians are often pessimistic about how much headway patients can make in their weight loss efforts. Th at’s not surprising, given that the average weight loss achieved in well-controlled clinical trials tends to be modest and the recidivism rate is extremely high.3 Yet these same trials are cause for optimism, with substantial subsets of patients often achieving clinically meaningful long-term weight loss. Th e National Weight Control Registry, a long-term prospective study of “successful losers,” is another hopeful indicator: Th e registry includes approximately 6000 individuals who have lost, on average, more than 70 lb, and kept it off for an average of 6 years.

4 (Listen to the audiocast at jfponline. com to fi nd out how.) Weight loss does not have to be huge to be clinically signifi cant. Even a modest loss (5%-10% of total body weight) can have major health benefi ts. Th ere’s much you can do to help. Evidence suggests that patients are considerably more likely to lose weight when they are advised to do so and supported by their primary care physician.5-9 Because there is no way to predict which approach will be most eff ective for which patient, family physicians (FPs) should off er a variety of evidence-based treatments, including dietary change, increased physical activity, medication for selected patients, and surgery for severely obese adults (TABLE 1).

In 2009, the National Committee on Quality Assurance added body mass index (BMI) to the list of eff ectiveness-ofcare measures that health plans and physicians are rated on.10 Th at addition, coupled with a recent study indicating that obesity accounts for more than 9% of annual health care expenditures,11 highlights the growing recognition that obesity should be considered a medical condition—not just a risk factor. While
Kathryn

Download The Book For Reading More. You Can Click The Link For Downloading Free