Facilitating Behavior Change in People with Obesity

This is the second in a two-lecture series that provides a comprehensive overview of obesity as well as behavior change in people with obesity (watch the first lecture here). This second lecture explores how to facilitate behavior change in people with obesity, drawing on theory and evidence, and relates these strategies to clinical practice. 

Learning points:
●  Obesity is associated with physical and mental (ill)health including non-communicable diseases, and its impact extends beyond health.

●  Pharmacotherapy treatment for obesity is gaining pace and producing weight loss outcomes that are far beyond what has been observed previously, and many people are buying these medications privately.

●  Weight loss (regardless of mechanism) is associated with bone and muscle loss – which could be of concern in the future.

●  To deliver evidence-based care to patients with obesity, we must ensure that we do not stigmatise them or their obesity, by improving our knowledge and understanding of obesity, and our communication skills.

●  We need to ensure that our interventions are theory and evidence based and meet the needs of our patients – there needs to be a sound rational for our interventions and our approach must respect patient autonomy.