The STOP Obesity Alliance is committed to strengthening systems of care for patients with obesity. The obesity care system involves the hard work of researchers, clinicians, policymakers, advocates, and professionals. Successfully strengthening the system requires that we engage with each of these groups. However, the Alliance has worked to engage health care providers in particular to better address this disease at the clinical level.
Research shows that few health care providers are positioned to provide effective screening and treatment to patients with obesity. STOP conducted a survey of primary care physicians in 2010, which showed that physicians see a shared role in weight management, but they lack the resources to deliver the highest standard of care. These results prompted the Alliance to develop the Why Weight? guide to discussing obesity for providers.
Others have worked to draw attention to the inadequate training of health professionals with respect to obesity and how to initiate conversations about weight. Most recently, a perspective article in the Journal of the American Medical Association offered a poignant and exceedingly honest evaluation of the state of obesity care from the patient perspective. Dr. Fiona Clement, a researcher at The University of Calgary, describes the challenges she has faced as a patient with obesity.
"This is an awkward conversation for both the patient and physician," she writes. "Weight is a tough subject, loaded with stigma, self-esteem, worthiness, and beauty issues." She cites previous research, echoing the results of the STOP 2010 survey, and she calls attention to toolkits similar to the Why Weight? guide that have helped to increase the number of physician-initiated conversations. She believes that toolkits and guides that enable the patient to initiate the conversation are missing.
"If we were to overcome this hurdle, the question I want answered is: What are the risks of continuing to go at this through diet and exercise vs the risks of the weight management intervention?" The majority of patients with obesity likely have similar questions, or perhaps others that ought to be voiced to their provider. "If we are going to expect physicians to be able to address the issue of obesity, we will need to equip them and patients with skills to artfully negotiate this awkward space."
Dr. Clement concludes her article by reminding us that behavior change is hard, and a "multipronged, multidisciplinary solution is required to support people to achieve and maintain a healthy weight." Conversations around weight rely on both the provider and the patient, and we need to do more to equip both with the tools to address obesity in a clinical setting.
Sincerely,
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Alliance & Member News
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ABOM Unveils 'Why Certify' Video for Physicians
The American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) recently created a new video designed to answer the top question physicians considering certification typically ask: Why should I certify? While the response isn't the same for every doctor, no one can frame an answer better than currently certified obesity medicine specialists. For those considering certification or those looking for a reminder of why they chose to pursue this specialty, a new video featuring ABOM diplomates and board members simply and convincingly answers this question. View the video, which includes STOP Medical Director Dr. Scott Kahan, here: https://vimeo.com/151577186 and contact ABOM at info@abom.org for more information about the certification process.
OMA Releases Obesity Algorithm, Updated for 2016
The Obesity Algorithm®, presented by the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA), is a free resource for physicians and health care professionals who treat patients affected by obesity. Providers can reference the algorithm when developing personalized treatment plans for their patients, use it as a training tool for staff members and residents learning about clinical obesity treatment, and review it while studying for the ABOM certification exam.
Since its original release in 2013, the algorithm has undergone annual revisions to reflect the changing landscape of the obesity medicine field. The 2016 version includes expanded nutrition and bariatric surgery sections, as well as the most up-to-date information about patient evaluation, motivational interviewing, anti-obesity medications, and much more.
The latest version of the Obesity Algorithm is available for free download at www.ObesityAlgorithm.org. Authors of the algorithm will discuss the updates live in an educational session at Obesity Medicine 2016, OMA's annual spring conference, taking place in San Francisco on April 6-10. Obesity Medicine 2016 offers the most comprehensive obesity medicine education for health care professionals, with the Review Course for the ABOM Exam, Practice Management Essentials, Nutrition Course, and Spring Obesity Summit all offered at the conference. Preview the full conference schedule in the preliminary program.
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News Round-Up
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January 7, 2016
CNN
By Jen Cristensen
"The 2015 guidelines recommend a "healthy eating pattern" with limited sugar and saturated fat, less salt and more vegetables and whole grains. The guidelines are revised every five years, and the draft version of this year's guide came in months ago at more than 500 pages. In the end, there are some breadcrumbs -- whole-wheat, of course -- of advice to follow. The guidance affects everything from what's served in school and prison lunches to how food labels work. It helps dietitians guide their clients. Experts say it also puts pressure on manufacturers and restaurants about what they put in their food."
January 8, 2016
Kaiser Health News
By Michelle Andrews
"Promising workers lower health insurance premiums for losing weight did nothing to help them take off the pounds, a recent study found. At the end of a year, workers had lost less than 1.5 pounds on average, statistically no different than the minute average gain of a tenth of a pound for workers who weren't offered a financial incentive to lose weight. The program may have failed for a number of reasons, said Dr. Mitesh Patel, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and the study's lead author. The $550 premium discount may not have been large enough. Bundling the financial reward into the insurance premium on a paycheck rather than making a separate payment to the worker may have affected how it was perceived. Other details - such as the fact that participants weighed themselves at work rather than at home - may have been off-putting to some participants. Patel also noted that many employer plans don't pay workers anything until they reach their goal, a situation similar to this study. "Someone should be encouraged along the way," he said. "We've found from studies that if you want to motivate people they need regular feedback."
January 8, 2016
NPR
By Eliza Barclay
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is beating the drum again: We're consuming too much sodium and it's a reason we have such high rates of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Not me, you say? Well, chances are, yes, you. An analysis appearing in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report reveals that 89 percent of U.S. adults were consuming more than the recommended 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day in the years 2009-2012, according to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, or NHANES."
January 13, 2016 Health Affairs Blog By James Knickman
"When the New York State Health Foundation's (NYSHealth's) board and staff began reviewing its strategic priorities in 2014, we grappled with how we could have the most impact given our modest resources. A holistic approach that creates community environments encouraging healthy living for everyone, regardless of age, makes sense to me. Ultimately, this is where NYSHealth has decided to focus its efforts. The main part of our battle plan, which we call Building Healthy Communities, is focused on changing community environments in six neighborhoods throughout New York State so that healthy foods and physical activity become easy choices for residents. We aim to improve the availability of affordable healthy foods, increase access to safe places to exercise, and encourage physical activity throughout every resident's normal day. And, if these interventions lead to good outcomes, we hope other funders in our state step in to help us spread the idea to more communities."
January 20, 2016
NPR
By Vanessa Rancano
"As researchers have searched for ways to explain the childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S., many have posited that a child's race or ethnicity alone can put them at greater risk of developing obesity. Kim Eagle, a professor of internal medicine and health management and policy at the University of Michigan, was skeptical of this thinking. His hunch was that poverty was a much more important part of the equation. And he saw an opportunity to parse the connections between childhood obesity, poverty and race in Massachusetts, where public health officials have been collecting race, body mass index and other data on about 112,000 students from about 70 of the state's school districts. Eagle and colleagues decided to compare those data to students' eligibility for free school lunch programs, an indicator of poverty, to find out what predicts whether a child might develop obesity."
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