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A patient who is told that she or he is obese by a physician is more likely to attempt to lose weight. However, physicians often fail to diagnose and prescribe weight loss interventions in obese patients. In this study, U.K. researchers used a large primary care database to ascertain weight management interventions (lifestyle advice, referrals for weight management, and antiobesity drug prescriptions) in overweight and obese patients between 2005 and 2012.
Overall, 55,000 overweight and 36,000 obese patients (mean age, 56) were identified. Most patients' records did not contain documented weight management interventions. However, rates of documented interventions increased with increasing body-mass index (BMI) category: Rates were about 10% …