Medically managing obesity: offering hope or a disincentive to change?

Objective: As weight loss in primary care remains minimal, Health Professionals are advised to medically manage obesity-related risk factors including blood pressure and cholesterol. This experimental study evaluated the impact of medically managing risk factors on obese patients’ motivation to change their behaviour. Methods: A vignette study with two arms: successful medical management (ie risk factors have improved) vs failed medical management (ie no change) set in three General Practices in the South of England. Overweight and obese patients (n=170) patients rated their behavioural intentions and beliefs after reading a vignette describing an overweight patient who had received either successful or failed medical management of their risk factors (blood pressure and cholesterol). Results: Following successful medical management overweight and obese patients reported increased intentions to lose weight and a greater understanding of their condition. Conclusion: Medical management may change patient’s understanding of their weight problem and motivate them to lose weight. Practice implications: Successful management relating to improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol may offer renewed hope and motivate obese patients to change their behaviour. This could be used as a teachable moment to encourage patients to see that obesity need not be an inevitable part of their lives