Changing physicians’ mindsets on obesity

An initiative at Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine has focused on reducing medical students’ negative attitude towards obese people. It is hoped that with this shift in mindset there will be better outcomes for heavier patients. The main idea behind the initiative is to shift the focus of individual responsibility when it comes to a person’s weight and make it a treatable condition. This is a similar strategy to the way that mental health medicine has changed over the years, for example 50 years ago patients with depression were commonly told to ‘get over it’, however now it is seen as a fully treatable condition.

The initiative itself was launched in 2012 and measured medical students’ attitudes using a ‘Fat Phobia Scale’, which identifies stereotypical beliefs such as obese people being lazy. After receiving information on the causes and treatment options for obesity, the same students’ attitudes were assessed at the end of each academic year. Those who completed the program reduced their bias by an average of 7 percent. It is hoped that if these attitude changes become widespread then physicans will spend more time with their overweight patients and take more care of them. Further to this, the authors explained that many patients feel too embarrassed to visit their doctors if they are received with a negative attitude. Based on the results of the four year course, the authors are hoping to expand the course online, making it available at other medical schools. This will also make it possible to gauge the effect on patient outcomes in the near future.