Obese Patients’ Views of the Practitioners’ Role in Initiating and Managing Weight Loss

Objectives: Obesity rates are increasing and practitioners working in primary care are ideally situated to intervene yet little is known about how the patient experiences this. The aim of this study was to explore patients’ perspectives of how practitioners can help initiate weight loss and provide continued support. Methods: Fifteen participants who were obese were recruited from primary care. The interviews were analysed using Thematic Analysis. Results: Three themes are presented including ‘Feeling Unsupported,’ ‘Positive Support,’ and ‘the practitioner’s role as a catalyst’. Participants sometimes felt their interactions with their practitioner could be better. The ‘Positive Support Received’ theme showed that participants were positive about the support they received from their practitioner. The final theme shows how participants felt that more direct communication from the practitioner could have helped with the initiation and maintenance of weight loss. Conclusion: Communication from the practitioner should be more direct and focused on health outcomes. The practitioner could make use of a ‘teachable moment’ to initiate and influence the motivation and adherence to the weight loss regimen. Practice implications: Practice implications include encouraging an assertive communication from practitioners about the negative consequences of obesity, encouraging more direct communication, and offering support with weight loss.