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What do nurse practitioners think about treating patients who are overweight and obese? Here's what respondents to our June 2009 online survey had to say.
Everyone who responded treats overweight patients, with 75% of respondents saying that at least half their patients are obese. Only 28% of respondents said they are helping almost all of their obese patients to lose weight; 34% said they're helping only about 10% of their obese patients to lose weight. Half of respondents said they are currently struggling with their own weight, and more than 12% have struggled in the past.
See complete results in table form here.
Read more about how nurse practitioners can help with weight loss strategies here.
What is your best weight-loss advice?
Most survey respondents expressed something like "eat less, exercise more." Below are some additional comments.
- Surgical treatment is the only real chance of patients experiencing successful long term weight loss. We are highly biased toward gastric banding as it is the safest and effective option for most patients. If patients meet NIH criteria and have not been able to succeed with conventional weight, we recommend bariatric surgery.
- Take one day at a time, one meal at a time. Having said that, plan ahead for shopping and having appropriate foods in the house. EXERCISE. A body in motion tends to stay in motion.
- Work at problem areas slowly. Cut down rather than cut out; do something rather than nothing; master one area (e.g., cutting down on sodas) and then move on to master another area (e.g., only a bag of chips per week from school vending machine). For every 1 hour spent seated (watching TV, playing videogames, using computer) spend 10 minutes exercising.
- The best weight loss approach is to realize that the changes you make are forever.
- Some patients have never identified or understood what underlying issues motivate them to STAY obese. Being able to identify the motives for both losing weight and staying overweight is very important in working successfully with these patients.
- You simply need to consume 500 less calories daily, over the long haul. Ideally, by eating 250 calories less per day, and burning 250 calories via exercise daily, beyond "normal" for you. It is a lifestyle, not a "diet" plan. For Dysmetabolic Syndrome patients, I also discuss insulin resistance and techniques to control appetite, and I help with CHO counting and frequent small meals.
If you could change the way Americans live, what would you change to reverse the obesity trend?
Most respondents would start by changing how restaurant and fast food is marketed, priced and served: for example, "Close down all the fast food restaurants, and outlaw soda completely." Below are some additional comments.
- Eliminate televisions. Make mandatory pedestrian-friendly towns across America. Do not allow disability benefits to obese persons. Do not grant surgeries for obesity-related diseases (heart/pancreas transplants).
- Provide better public transportation, which would encourage more walking and fewer autos.
- Make activity a part of life, not a thing to "plan." Improve funding and therefore options in school food programs. Start at birth with nutrition education!
- I would mandate that restaurants reduce serving sizes, that fast food places offer small drinks, sandwiches, etc., and that they get rid of the "double cheeseburger whopper with bacon." Also, restaurants should not have "half" servings for only $1 less than regular meals. Buffets should charge by the gram or weight of a person rather than by the person. I would also mandate that colleges change their meal lines so that the football players are not being charged the same amount as my 100 lb daughter for meals! This country needs to get over the mentality that BIGGER is necessarily better!
- Stop all regular soda and juices, conveniences that technology offers. We do not have to move any more because there is a remote control for everything. We should take away the Gameboys and computers so kids can run around playing tag.
- Reward exercise! At school, at work, in the community.
- Provide work opportunities closer to home, planned development units, employment contracts that reward time spent in health improvement activities, e.g., walking, going to the gym, taking a bicycle to work, etc.
- I would hope the benefits of preventative lifestyle could be incorporated into their psyche, from youth. That is to say learning balance in your life, with time for self renewal, for exercise, for smart eating habits. I think it is insane the work life is so demanding!
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