RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Recognition And Management Of Obesity In A Family Practice Setting
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Practice
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 457
OP 463
DO 10.3122/jabfm.6.5.457
VO 6
IS 5
A1 Logue, Everett
A1 Gilchrist, Valerie
A1 Bourguet, Claire
A1 Bartos, Paul
YR 1993
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/6/5/457.abstract
AB Background: Research on the diagnosis and management of obesity in primary cure is limited. Our study goals were to describe the rate of obesity in a primary care setting, to identify factors associated with clinically recognized obesity, and to ascertain the level of diet and exercise counseling for obesity. Methods: Medical records from a private group practice were used for a historical cohort study of 276 patients (aged 40 years and older) who were provided care for a maximum 4.5-year follow-up period. Results: forty-six percent of the study patients (95 percent confidence interval = 0.43, 0.49) received an obesity diagnosis according to medical record notations. The diagnosis of obesity, in turn, was predicted by body mass index (BMI) quartile (P < 0.001) and a positive family history of cardiovascular disease (P < 0.01). Those patients with a diagnosis of obesity had a higher mean level of subsequent weight and diet counseling (P = 0.0001) but the same level (P = 0.11) of exercise counseling as nonobese patients. Weight and diet counseling was also predicted by diabetes (P = 0.0001) and hypercholesterolemia (P = 0.0003). Conclusions: The clinical recognition of obesity was not determined by BMI alone. Although weight and diet counseling was initiated for those individuals described as obese, there was a relatively low level of exercise counseling among these patients. Additional research could provide ways of reducing both physician and patient barriers to exercise counseling.