Time Spent on Overweight and Obesity in Primary Care
Author Information
Author(s): Adam G Tsai, Elmer D Abbo, Lorraine G Ogden
Primary Institution: University of Colorado School of Medicine
Hypothesis
How much time do primary care providers spend addressing overweight and obesity during patient visits?
Conclusion
Approximately 8% of time from primary care visits is attributable to overweight and obesity.
Supporting Evidence
- The total visit time was 21.77 minutes, with 5.65 minutes spent on weight-related conditions.
- 1.75 minutes of visit time was specifically attributable to overweight and obesity.
- The study used a nationally representative sample of outpatient visits.
Takeaway
Doctors spend some of their time helping patients with weight problems, and this study found that it's about 8% of their visit time.
Methodology
Analyzed primary care visits from the 2005 and 2006 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey using multivariable logistic regression.
Potential Biases
Potential misclassification of weight-related conditions due to measurement error.
Limitations
Only half of the NAMCS sample had height and weight recorded, and small sample sizes for some conditions necessitated combining them.
Participant Demographics
The sample included 26.7% normal weight, 30.7% overweight, and 39.9% obese patients, with a majority being women.
Statistical Information
P-Value
< 0.0001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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