Study: Many Obese Patients Unconvinced Weight Poses Health Risks
Image via Wikipedia(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) -- A majority of overweight and obese patients seen in hospital emergency departments do not consider their weight to be a threat to their health, and say that doctors have never informed them of the risks of excessive weight gain, a new study finds.
HealthDay reports that researchers surveyed 450 randomly selected patients seen in the emergency department at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., and asked them to respond to two questions. The first question that was asked was, “Do you believe your present weight is damaging to your health?” followed by, “Have other health professionals ever told you that you are overweight?”
The study found that only 19 percent of respondents who reported that their weight was unhealthy said they'd ever discussed it with a health care professional. Thirty percent of respondents who were told that their weight was unhealthy by their health care provider agreed with that opinion.
The study also found that 47 percent of obese and overweight men believed their weight was a problem, while the majority—53 percent—felt it wasn’t an issue.
Study author Dr. Matthew Ryan, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at University of Florida, found that women were more aware of the health issues surrounding obesity, as 62 percent reported that their weight was negatively affecting their health.
"We see the manifestations of obesity in the emergency department. Obesity is directly linked to other diseases—hypertension, diabetes, cancers, osteoarthritis, gallbladder disease, heart disease, strokes, and metabolic syndrome," Ryan said. "We see the acute exacerbations of chronic diseases."
Even amid all the health problems surrounded by excessive weight, only 36 percent of overweight or obese men and 50 percent of overweight/obese women reported discussing the issue with their doctors.
Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio
Taken from WTMA.com; source article is below:
Study: Many Obese Patients Unconvinced Weight Poses Health Risks
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