Physicians - Weigh What Matters

Welcome to Weigh What Matters: A family obesity prevention program sponsored by the American Medical Association.

Get the App

Our free app makes it easy to work with your patients to establish weight, healthy eating, and physical activity goals, and track their progress.

The program's goal is to support and enhance the dialogue between physicians and their patients about weight and how it impacts their health and their family's health.

Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that patients are three times more likely to undertake a weight-loss program if their physician suggests it.¹

Weigh What Matters offers you resources and guidance to help you start this important dialogue in a quick and easy way, motivating your patients to understand how their weight impacts their health and their families and what they can do today to reduce their risk.

It's never too late for your patients to make lifestyle choices that can have lifelong benefits—for themselves and their families.

_{1. Galuska DA, Will JC, Serdula MK, Ford ES. Are health care professionals advising obese patients to lose weight? JAMA. 1999;282(16):1576-1578.}

Weigh What Matters Materials

These eight categories of materials are intended to help you start the conversation about weight with your patients—to help them understand that when they are overweight, their families also have a significantly greater chance of being overweight. These materials can be downloaded and printed for use in your office and to give to your patients.

Physician's Guide English PDF

This guide will help you address the importance of healthy weight management with all of your patients—from the moment they enter your office to the second they exit. The guide includes patient conversation starters, CPT^© codes for obesity-related screening and counseling, and resources for additional information.

Office Team Reference Sheet English PDF

This handy reference for your office team provides quick training in, or a reminder about, the program's "Weigh. Counsel. Follow up." steps, along with support materials.

Patient Self-Assessment English PDF | Spanish PDF

All patients can fill out this weight self-assessment when they arrive at your office. It will help them think about how they view their weight and help you determine how ready they are to talk about their weight and how they would like you to discuss it with them.

Patient Action Plan English PDF | Spanish PDF

This patient handout summarizes your conversation about weight and the next steps the patient should take. It includes a BMI chart, space for noting personal goals, a calendar for tracking progress and a reminder to follow up with your team.

Patient Brochure English PDF | Spanish PDF

You can give this to patients during or after consultation. It reinforces the message that weight is not only a concern for patients but for patients' families as well. It also directs them to our website for more information and tools to take their next steps.

Office Posters English PDF | Spanish PDF

This selection of 8 1/2" x 11" posters can be placed in your waiting room, weighing area or examination rooms. They will reinforce the message that weight management is important and encourage patients to talk to you or your team about how to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

AMA Healthier Life Steps™ Action Plans and Tracking Calendars

Additional healthy eating and physical activity strategies, action plans and tracking calendars are also available for your patients through the AMA Healthier Life Steps™ program. AMA Healthier Life Steps supports a patient-physician partnership to improve four key health behaviors: Diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and tobacco use.

Action Plan for Healthy Eating English PDF | Spanish PDF
Healthy Eating Tracking Calendar English PDF | Spanish PDF
Action Plan for Increasing Physical Activity English PDF | Spanish PDF
Physical Activity Tracking Calendar English PDF | Spanish PDF

Additional AMA Resources

These two additional resources are available to help you and your team follow up with your patients and develop weight management goals and action plans.

AMA Promoting Healthy LifeStyles: Obesity

The AMA obesity page is designed for professionals, but it is also available to patients. It contains facts about the health risks of overweight and obesity, CPT^® codes for obesity counseling and screening, and resources from AMA efforts related to obesity.

AMA Healthier Life Steps™: Support Your Patients

This program contains information and resources to help physicians support their patients' efforts to improve four key health behaviors: Diet, physical activity, alcohol consumption and tobacco use. In addition, the Physicians' Guide to Personal Health supports physicians' own personal efforts to live a healthier lifestyle and serve as role models for their patients.

Outside Resources

These six resources will also be helpful to you and your patients.

ChooseMyPlate for Professionals

This U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) site has resources about USDA food guidelines, sample menus, recipes and daily food plans that professionals can share with their patients.

CDC Vital Signs™

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) site provides facts about diseases, conditions and other risk factors associated with excess weight that you can share with your patients.

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site outlines the types and amounts of physical activity needed to improve health and reduce risk of disease in Americans age six and older.

U.S. National Physical Activity Plan

The U.S National Physical Activity Plan is a comprehensive set of policies, programs and initiatives aimed at increasing physical activity in all segments of the American population. The Plan is the product of a collaboration between the private and public sectors, with hundreds of organizations working together to help communities enable every American to be sufficiently physically active.

Physician Resources