Obesity Management In Family Practice

The acknowledgment that obesity is a disease—a disease with enormous impact on both the public health and the economy and an incredible burden to its victims—has ?nally come. This ?nal recognition will hopefully free research dollars and will encourage third party payers to understand the need to cover services for treatment. Dr McKnight is an honored family medicine educator who combines his sense of academic rigor with the understanding of a compassionate family p- sician. Thus he approaches this clinical syndrome in the manner of a family physician: he aims to have an effect on the entire person and that person’s life, not just some disease entity. His broad-based approach draws on behavioral strategies, diet and exercise modi?cation, and limited use of pharmaceuticals in selected cases. The practical tools presented here will prove to be valuable ad- tions to the armamentarium of care teams that look to develop treatment plans for their patients with this disease. I myself have been obese as long as I can remember. I am the son of obese parents and my sister has shared this chronic problem. Over my lifetime I have dealt with almost all of the problems of obesity, and I have used all of the excuses. I have dealt with many obese patients during my years in practice, some who have said openly that they chose me as their physician because I really couldn’t tell them to lose weight, since I could not myself.

The latest information from the CDC demonstrates that 70% of Americans can be classified as having pre-obesity or obesity. This chronic disease is considered the cause of many other chronic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, to name but a few of the 236 obesity associated disorders. Additionally, obesity is considered to be the cause of fourteen different types of cancers. Based on the number of people affected and the consequences of the disease, it is imperative that it is studied and treated by primary care providers. Few training programs for physicians, NPs or PAs are covering the basics of treating obesity. These fundamentals include pathophysiology, assessment of the disease, and the foundational components of treatment with eating plans, physical activity and behavioral interventions, then the supporting components of anti-obesity medications, devices and surgery. As a result, few of those currently in primary care practice have received any education in the evidence-based treatment of obesity. This book provides the reader with the education to understand the disease, the patient’s experience, and full evidence-based treatment. It also provides the opportunity to understand how to incorporate the treatment into primary care. Written by a leading expert in the field, Treating Obesity in Primary Care offers all clinicians providing primary care services the information needed to effectively treat the chronic disease of obesity.

The acknowledgment that obesity is a disease—a disease with enormous impact on both the public health and the economy and an incredible burden to its victims—has ?nally come. This ?nal recognition will hopefully free research dollars and will encourage third party payers to understand the need to cover services for treatment. Dr McKnight is an honored family medicine educator who combines his sense of academic rigor with the understanding of a compassionate family p- sician. Thus he approaches this clinical syndrome in the manner of a family physician: he aims to have an effect on the entire person and that person’s life, not just some disease entity. His broad-based approach draws on behavioral strategies, diet and exercise modi?cation, and limited use of pharmaceuticals in selected cases. The practical tools presented here will prove to be valuable ad- tions to the armamentarium of care teams that look to develop treatment plans for their patients with this disease. I myself have been obese as long as I can remember. I am the son of obese parents and my sister has shared this chronic problem. Over my lifetime I have dealt with almost all of the problems of obesity, and I have used all of the excuses. I have dealt with many obese patients during my years in practice, some who have said openly that they chose me as their physician because I really couldn’t tell them to lose weight, since I could not myself.

The acknowledgment that obesity is a disease—a disease with enormous impact on both the public health and the economy and an incredible burden to its victims—has ?nally come. This ?nal recognition will hopefully free research dollars and will encourage third party payers to understand the need to cover services for treatment. Dr McKnight is an honored family medicine educator who combines his sense of academic rigor with the understanding of a compassionate family p- sician. Thus he approaches this clinical syndrome in the manner of a family physician: he aims to have an effect on the entire person and that person’s life, not just some disease entity. His broad-based approach draws on behavioral strategies, diet and exercise modi?cation, and limited use of pharmaceuticals in selected cases. The practical tools presented here will prove to be valuable ad- tions to the armamentarium of care teams that look to develop treatment plans for their patients with this disease. I myself have been obese as long as I can remember. I am the son of obese parents and my sister has shared this chronic problem. Over my lifetime I have dealt with almost all of the problems of obesity, and I have used all of the excuses. I have dealt with many obese patients during my years in practice, some who have said openly that they chose me as their physician because I really couldn’t tell them to lose weight, since I could not myself.

This issue of Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, devoted to Obesity Management, is guest edited by Dr. Mark Stephens of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Articles in this important issue include: Obesity: What Do the Statistics Say?; Economic Impact of Obesity; The Future of Pediatric Obesity; Obesity Prevention and Screening; Behavior Modification in Obesity Management; Nutritional Therapy; Physical Activity: Cornerstone or Roadblock?; Pharmacologic Therapy for Obesity; Surgical Approaches to Obesity; Multidisciplinary Teams and Obesity: Role of the Modern Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH); Healthcare Systems and National Policy: Role of Leadership in the Obesity Crisis; and Special Populations in Obesity Management.

Written by and for primary care professionals, this unique title presents step-by-step, evidence-based information for the assessment and treatment of patients who present with overweight or obesity. Highly practical and easy to use, Primary Care: Obesity helps you develop and hone the specific knowledge, skills, and clinical practices necessary to provide effective care to this highly prevalent and at-risk patient population. This comprehensive guide is an essential resource for today’s internal medicine and family medicine physicians, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals who practice outpatient primary care.

Obesity is undoubtedly the major nutritional disorder of the western world. It has such a major impact on mortality, morbidity and the quality of life that it most certainly merits consideration as a disease in its own right and should be managed as such. Obesity and Weight Management in Primary Care covers all the evidence on the disease of obesity which impacts both quality of life and health. It reviews the links to long-term illness, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and dedicates much to the current management strategies and treatment of obesity. This book aims to make the task of tackling obesity less daunting for both patients and the health care professionals who treat them.

As the general public has become more aware of advances in nutrition, consumer demands for advice on matters of diet and disease have grown. This book offers recommendations to upgrade what were found to be largely inadequate nutrition programs in U.S. medical schools in order that health professionals be better qualified to advise and treat their patients. A comprehensive study of one-third of American 4-year undergraduate medical schools provided information on the current status of nutrition programs at each school. Conclusions were drawn and recommendations made from analysis of this gathered information. Questions examined in this volume include: Has medical education kept pace with advances in nutrition science? Are medical students equipped to convey sound nutritional advice to their patients? What strategies are needed to initiate and sustain adequate teaching of nutrition in medical schools?