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Summit looks at doctors' roles in battling obesity epidemic

Solutions are elusive, but experts say physicians should get better at diagnosing the problem and also spread clear, simple lifestyle messages in their communities.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, amednews staff. Nov. 8, 2004.

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Physicians should assess their patients for weight problems, although it is unclear whether body mass index, waist circumference or even dress size is the most useful and easy-to-communicate indicator. And what should physicians' roles be in transforming communities to be more conducive to healthy lifestyles?

These are some examples of the issues considered in Chicago last month at the AMA's National Summit on Obesity -- a meeting that gathered together experts and clinicians in an attempt to craft solutions to the nation's obesity epidemic.

"It's a very rare part of medicine that is not impacted by obesity. The time for hand-wringing is over," said Melvyn L. Sterling, MD, summit moderator and chair of the AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs.

Attendees said the first challenge for most physicians was to focus attention on who among their patients was overweight or obese and communicate this information to the patient in a meaningful way. The BMI is used as standard in most scientific research, and summit members considered it a "fifth vital sign." Still, some physicians said patients didn't always understand what it represents.

"Is it really worth devoting our time and resources to explaining the BMI to patients?" said Dr. Sterling. "Or is it more effective to focus on waist circumference? We have got to give patients something they can relate to."

But what to do with a patient after a diagnosis is also a mystery. Several studies have shown that a physician simply telling a smoker to quit is enough to increase the number of people who try to kick the habit. Losing weight, though, is an entirely distinct proposition.