Obese Diagnosis Ups Odds of Weight Loss
Simply being diagnosed as obese increases a patient’s likelihood of establishing a treatment plan with their physician, a U.S. study found.
Creating a treatment plan with a physician is a crucial step in improving health, according to Dr. Warren Thompson, a Mayo Clinic internist.
One-in-five patients had their obesity documented and a disease management plan made but the patients who were diagnosed as obese had a 2.5 times higher chance of forming a weight-loss management plan than if they hadn’t been diagnosed, said the study published the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Thompson said physicians should be more proactive in discussing obesity with patients and patients should initiate the conversation if they have weight concerns.
Even a small reduction in an obese person’s weight improves quality of life, reduces morbidity and results in lower health care use and medical costs, Thompson said.