Patient and Visit Characteristics for Patients in Weight-Related Discussions* (n = 320)
| Patient characteristics | |
| Baseline weight, kg (mean [SD]) | 93.9 (21.2) |
| Obese (BMI ≥30) | 61 (194) |
| Race | |
| White/Asian | 61 (196) |
| African American | 39 (124) |
| Male | 34 (108) |
| Age, years (mean [SD]) | 58.4 (13.3) |
| >High school education (missing 1)† | 68 (217) |
| Economic security: can pay bills easily (missing 11) | 88 (272) |
| Medical history | |
| Diabetes | 33 (104) |
| Hypertension | 68 (217) |
| Hyperlipidemia (missing 1) | 56 (180) |
| Arthritis | 43 (136) |
| Weight loss | |
| Very motivated to lose weight versus somewhat to not at all‡ | 58 (184) |
| Very confident can lose weight versus somewhat to not at all confident§ | 36 (115) |
| Very comfortable discussing weight with physician versus somewhat to not at all∥ | 73 (234) |
| Tried to lose weight during past month | 49 (158) |
| Visit factors (n = 320) | |
| Total patient-medical personnel in-room time, min (mean [SD]) | 25.9 (10.2) |
| Total time spent discussing weight, min (mean [SD]) | 4.2 (3.4) |
| Who initiated the weight discussion? | |
| Physician | 36 (115) |
| Patient | 64 (205) |
| Weight not discussed | 0 (0) |
| Type of encounter (missing 2) | |
| Preventive | 39 (123) |
| Chronic care | 61 (195) |
| Explicit weight discussion | 76 (242) |
Values provided as % (n) unless otherwise indicated.
↵* Patients were considered “counseled” when physicians used motivational interviewing techniques when discussing weight.
↵† Missing data at baseline (counseled sample).
↵‡ Motivation to lose weight/address weight (1 = not at all, 7 = very much).
↵§ Self-efficacy to lose weight/address weight (1 = not at all confident, 5 = very confident).
↵∥ Comfort discussing weight (1 = not at all comfortable, 5 = very comfortable).
BMI, body mass index.