Abstract 363: Impact of Health Questionnaires as a Behavioral Modifier in Obese Patients: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: The morbidity and mortality associated with obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) has been known to medical science for more than 2000 years. 1 Obesity is increasing in prevalence in adults, adolescents, and children and is considered a global epidemic. The age-adjusted overall prevalence of obesity in the United States increased progressively from 22.9 to 30.5 to 39.6 percent from the year 2007 to 2016. 2 Purpose: To Assess if filling out a survey on obesity has any impact on a patient’s behavior and self-awareness in an outpatient setting. Methods: In an urban outpatient setting, 350 individuals aged 18 and above, suffering from obesity (defined as BMI >30/m2) were asked to fill-out a survey. The survey included basic demographic information, weight, employment status, exercise frequency, eating habits, and questions about self-perception. Patients filled out an identical follow-up survey 2-3 months later. We measured the changes in responses between the pre- and the post- survey. Results: Of the 350 original respondents, 103 patients followed up with the post-survey. 68.9% were women, 73.2% were African-American, and 62.3% were unemployed. 46.4% of patients felt neutral, or content about their current weight. 37.7% of patients reported never exercising in the pre-survey vs. 16.8% in the post-survey (20.9% improvement), while 25.3% of patients reported exercising 2-3 times per week in the pre-survey vs. 36.4% in the post-survey (11.1% improvement). 61% of patients had lost weight (average weight loss of 6.75lbs), 19% of patients had gained weight (average weight gain 4.55 lbs.) and 20% had maintained the same weight. We recorded a net weight loss of 2.2 lbs. Conclusion: In our pilot study, we found that the act of filling out a survey on obesity may have a positive impact on the behavior and self-awareness of patients with BMI > 30kg/m2. Larger sample sizes would be beneficial in order to further establish the impact of such intervention. 1. Bray GA. The Battle of the Bulge: A History of Obesity Research, Dorrance, Pittsburgh 2007. 2. Hales CM, Fryar CD, Carroll MD, Freedman DS, Ogden CL. Trends in Obesity and Severe Obesity Prevalence in US Youth and Adults by Sex and Age, 2007-2008 to 2015-2016. JAMA. 2018;319(16):1723.