Patient-Doctor Disagreements More Likely in Overweight Patients

MONDAY, Sept. 12, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Overweight patients are more likely to disagree with their physicians than patients of normal weight, according to a study published online Aug. 30 in Family Practice.

Laëtitia Gimenez, from the University Toulouse III Paul Sabatier University in France, and colleagues analyzed whether patient-general practitioner (GP) interaction varies among overweight or obese patients versus normal-weight patients. The analysis included 27 GPs and 585 patients.

The researchers found that disagreement between GPs and patients increased with patients’ excess weight and was particularly pronounced for advice given by GPs on weight and lifestyle issues. Overweight patients were more likely to disagree with their GP regarding advice given on weight loss (odds ratio, 10.7), advice given on doing more physical activity (odds ratio, 1.9), and nutritional advice (odds ratio, 2.9) compared with patients with a “normal” body mass index.

“These disagreements could degrade the quality of patient-physician relationship,” the authors write. “Our study provides an opportunity for GPs to reflect on how they communicate with overweight and obese patients, particularly with regard to lifestyle and weight-related advice and interventions taking into account the patient’s representations.”

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