Obesity care: clinical guidance and practice resources
Comprehensive resources for family physicians to help patients overcome this deadly condition.
Obesity is a major risk factor for many prevalent and dangerous health issues, including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Patients may struggle with overeating for multiple reasons, and require a customized, sensitive approach.
One-third of adults and 17% of youth in the United States are considered obese. As a family physician treating patients at each stage of life, you play a critical role in counseling them about healthy interventions to promote weight loss or prevent the onset of obesity. These evidence-based, practical resources help you support your patients’ weight management needs and empower you to identify obstacles, recommend positive behavioral strategies and set realistic physical activity goals.
Clinical Preventive Service Recommendations
The USPSTF recommends screening for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes in adults aged 35 to 70 years who have overweight or obesity. Clinicians should offer or refer patients with prediabetes to effective preventive interventions.
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The USPSTF recommends screening for gestational diabetes in asymptomatic pregnant persons at 24 weeks of gestation or after. The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for gestational diabetes in asymptomatic pregnant persons before 24 weeks of gestation.
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The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of adding the ankle-brachial index (ABI), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) level, or coronary artery calcium (CAC) score to traditional risk assessment for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in asymptomatic adults to prevent CVD events.
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The USPSTF recommends against screening with resting or exercise electrocardiography (ECG) to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in asymptomatic adults at low risk of CVD events. The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening with resting or exercise ECG to prevent CVD events in asymptomatic adults at intermediate or high risk of CVD events.
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The USPSTF recommends against screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis in the general adult population.
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The USPSTF recommends screening for hypertension in adults 18 years or older with office blood pressure measurement.
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The USPSTF concludes that current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for high blood pressure in children and adolescents.
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The USPSTF recommends that clinicians individualize the decision to offer or refer adults without cardiovascular disease risk factors to behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthy diet and physical activity.
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The USPSTF recommends that clinicians offer or refer adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) to intensive, multicomponent behavioral interventions.
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The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for lipid disorders in children and adolescents 20 years or younger.
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The USPSTF recommends that clinicians prescribe a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more CVD risk factors (i.e. dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) and an estimated 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event of 10% or greater. The USPSTF recommends that clinicians selectively offer a statin for the primary prevention of CVD for adults aged 40 to 75 years who have 1 or more CVD risk factors (i.e dyslipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, or smoking) and an estimated 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event of 7.5% to less than 10%. The likelihood of benefit is smaller in this group than in persons with a 10-year risk of 10% or greater. The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of initiating a statin for the primary prevention of CVD events and mortality in adults 76 years or older.
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The USPSTF recommends that clinicians provide or refer children and adolescents 6 years or older with a high body mass index (BMI) (≥95th percentile for age and sex) to comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions.
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The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening for obstructive sleep apnea in the general adult population.
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Creating a welcoming space in your practice
Obesity is a major risk factor for many prevalent and dangerous population health issues, including heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.
Negative attitudes and beliefs among health care professionals can lead to discrimination, suboptimal care and worse health outcomes for people with overweight or obesity. People of color with obesity may face additional stigma related to their cultural identity and race when seeking care, resulting in an even greater negative impact on healthcare access and health outcomes.
You play a critical role in not just counseling patients about healthy interventions to promote weight loss or prevent the onset of obesity, but also making them feel comfortable and welcome in your office.
Practice manual: addressing health disparities for patients with obesity
Quality measures
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Preventive care and screening: Body mass index (BMI) screening and follow-up |
Weight assessment and counseling for nutrition and physical activity for children/adolescents (WCC) |
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National Committee for Quality Assurance |
National Committee for Quality Assurance |
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No longer endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF). |
Telehealth eligible |