Department of Family Medicine and Primary care, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2023 Jul 7;15(1):e1-e9. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v15i1.3872.
Obesity in South Africa has created a public health crisis that warrants a multilevel intervention. However, patients' perceptions and clinicians' challenges hinder the management of obesity in primary care.
The study aimed to assess obese patients' dissatisfaction with weight and body image and their perspectives on interaction with clinicians regarding obesity management in a primary care setting.
Outpatient department of Dr Yusuf Dadoo District Hospital.
Cross-sectional study of 213 adult obese patients. A semi-structured questionnaire, a body image assessment tool and patients' medical records were used for data collection.
The study found that, contrary to popular belief, obese patients were dissatisfied with their weight (78.9%) and body image (95.3%). Many felt comfortable while discussing weight reduction with clinicians, although 37.1% reported never engaging with a doctor and 62.9% never interacted with a nurse on the subject. Only 6% reported receiving adequate information on weight reduction measures and 19.7% were followed-up. Clinicians' advice was mainly associated with patients' high body mass index and waist circumference. Doctors were less likely to recommend weight reduction to employed obese women, while nurses were more likely to engage Zulu-speaking patients. Patients were more likely to be followed up if they were young and excessively obese.
The study found that most obese patients were dissatisfied with their weight and body image and perceived their interaction with clinicians regarding obesity management as inadequate.Contribution: The study provides an angle of view of challenges in obesity management from patients' perspectives.
南非的肥胖问题已经引发了一场公共卫生危机，需要采取多层次的干预措施。然而，患者的认知和临床医生的挑战阻碍了初级保健中肥胖症的管理。
本研究旨在评估肥胖患者对体重和身体形象的不满程度，以及他们对在初级保健环境中与临床医生就肥胖管理进行互动的看法。
Yusuf Dadoo 地区医院门诊部。
对 213 名成年肥胖患者进行横断面研究。使用半结构式问卷、身体形象评估工具和患者病历进行数据收集。
研究发现，与普遍看法相反，肥胖患者对自己的体重（78.9%）和身体形象（95.3%）不满意。尽管 37.1%的患者表示从未与医生讨论过减肥问题，而 62.9%的患者从未与护士讨论过这个问题，但他们在与临床医生讨论减肥问题时感到很舒适。只有 6%的患者报告接受了足够的减肥措施信息，而 19.7%的患者接受了随访。临床医生的建议主要与患者的高体重指数和腰围有关。医生不太可能建议就业肥胖女性减肥，而护士更可能与祖鲁语患者接触。如果患者年轻且过度肥胖，他们更有可能接受随访。
研究发现，大多数肥胖患者对自己的体重和身体形象不满意，认为他们与临床医生就肥胖管理进行的互动不够充分。
本研究从患者的角度提供了肥胖管理挑战的观点。
