Adherence
Standard-of-care weight management in primary care is characterized by extremely low rates of active treatment, with only 12% of eligible patients receiving a weight-prioritized visit and less than 6% receiving any weight-related referral or anti-obesity drug prescription.
If you have a BMI over 25, do not assume your regular doctor is actively treating your weight. In standard practice, most patients like you are not getting referrals or medications. You must explicitly request a 'weight-prioritized visit' or ask for specific interventions (referrals, medications) to break through the system's inertia.
A total of 12% of patients aged ≥18 years and with a BMI ≥25 kg/m2 seen in the 57 practices during the baseline period (n = 20,383) had a weight-prioritized visit... Documented referral for anything weight related was low (<6%), and 334 prescriptions of an antiobesity drug were noted.
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=20,383) and robust data extraction from EMR, though it is a baseline observational snapshot, not an intervention outcome.
Source
Baseline Characteristics of PATHWEIGH: A Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Study for Weight Management in Primary Care
Leigh Perreault et al. · The Annals of Family Medicine · 2023
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →