GPs can encourage patients to lose weight with 'brief conversation' - report
A new high profile report has revealed patients can be motivated to lose weight after GPs instigate a 30 second conversation about their size.
Patients can be motivated to lose weight by having brief conversations with their GPs and, if those conversations are used to direct them a weight loss programme, then patients lose “substantially more” weight, a new report has revealed.
The study, led by the University of Oxford, and published in in leading medical journal, The Lancet, looked at the impact of GP’s instigating 30-second conversations with patients about their weight.
It found that while brief conversations about weight were welcomed by patients and increased the likelihood of patients taking action, using those conversations to direct patients to effective support like Slimming World increased the proportion taking effective action five-fold.
The findings are significant because research shows that in most consultations, health professionals do not discuss weight with patients who have an obese BMI, citing lack of time and fear of causing offence among the key reasons for not raising the issue.
However, most patients (81.3%) said they found the conversation with their GP both helpful and appropriate, with only 0.2% saying they found it inappropriate or unhelpful.
A conversation with their GP led to a weight loss of 1.04kg at 12 months but people who were offered referral to groups like Slimming World lost 2.43kg on average and those that took up the referral lost substantially more.
Professor Paul Aveyard, from the University of Oxford who was the lead author of the study and is also a practising GP, argued doctors have a “huge opportunity” to intervene in this way.
He said: “Doctors can be concerned about offending their patients by discussing their weight, but evidence from this trial shows that they should be much less worried.
“Our study found that a brief, 30 second conversation, followed by help booking the first appointment onto a community weight loss programme, leads to weight loss and is welcomed by patients. On average, people consult their doctor five times a year meaning there is huge opportunity to deliver this low cost intervention on a large scale.”
Carolyn Pallister, Public Health Manager for Slimming World, said: “This study shows that equipping health professionals with the skills to raise the issue of weight in a non-judgemental way and ensuring they have the knowledge to signpost to proven, effective weight loss support like Slimming World should be at the very top of the public health agenda.
“[It] shows that a very brief intervention where health professionals raise the issue of weight and signpost to effective support would help patients lose weight, improve health and quality of life and also save the health service money through lower incidence of heart disease and diabetes.”
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