Physician attitudes towards individuals who are overweight

Abstract

Studies suggest that many physicians believe they lack knowledge of and training in treatment of obesity. The objective of this study was to assess resident physicians’ attitudes toward overweight and obese patients. A total of 38 medical residents completed a survey of attitudes toward obese subjects. A one‐way ANOVA was performed to determine if there was a relationship between nutrition education in medical school and physician attitudes and also to determine if there was a relationship between physician residency year and physician attitudes towards obesity. There was a significant effect of physician residency year on their attitudes at the p<0.05 level for the three conditions [F (0.062, 31.3) =0.021, p=−0.022]. An independent t‐test was performed to determine if there was a relationship between physician gender and physician attitudes towards obesity. Male resident physicians reported that they would spend more time working on weight management issues if their time was reimbursed properly (M=3.92, SD= 1.038) than females (M=3.68, SD=0.945), t(38)=0.905, p=0.014. Male resident physicians reported that it is more acceptable to use “scare tactics” to obtain compliance of the obese patient (M=3.08, SD=1.038) than female resident physicians (M=2.76, SD=0.879), t(38)=0.942, p=0.005. Further studies are needed with a larger study sample and to examine a possible change in attitude over time.