Over the past several decades, the overweight and obesity epidemic in the USA has resulted in a significant health and economic burden. The prevalence of obesity has outpaced the increase in overweight over time, especially among adolescents. Nearly 20% of U.S. children have obesity. Existing policies have failed to address overweight and obesity. Without major reform, the forecasted trends will be devastating at the individual and population level, and the associated disease burden and economic costs will continue to escalate. Kimberly Gudzune & team discussed the introduction and need for comprehensive care for obesity management.
WHO – 1999, identified obesity as a complex, multifactorial disease that is incompletely understood and requires long-term strategies for its effective prevention and management. The American Medical Association -2013 recognized obesity as a disease state with multiple pathophysiological aspects requiring a range of interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention.
A survey of U.S. physicians’ attitudes about obesity, comparing responses from Primary Care Physicians (PCPs), Endocrinologists, and Cardiologists indicated that most physicians across specialties recognize obesity as a disease, but many still associate it with self-control issues. Common barriers include fear of offending patients, inadequate training, and limited referral resources. A majority also feel they are unlikely to succeed in helping patients achieve or maintain a healthy weight. Less than 10% of PCPs use guidelines to inform obesity treatment decisions.
ADA Standards of Care for Overweight and Obesity provides unified guidance and propose realistic solutions to provide clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and others with the components of obesity care, general treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. This can help in prevention, screening, diagnosis & treatment of the condition. An interprofessional committee was formed who have expertise in adult and pediatric obesity medicine, endocrinology, epidemiology, public health, behavioral health, cardiovascular risk management, and clinical pharmacology. Several organizations have representation on the SOC.
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