Research
Adherence
Minoritized patients are disproportionately funneled into lifestyle counseling (MOVE!) while being underutilized for more effective, intensive treatments like medications and bariatric surgery.
Be aware that you might be offered lifestyle programs first. While these are helpful, they are less effective than medications or surgery for many. Ask your provider why you are not being considered for more intensive treatments if your BMI and health status warrant it.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
Our results reveal higher adjusted odds of using MOVE! and lower odds of using medications for several minoritized patient groups, as well as lower odds of undergoing bariatric surgery for Black patients. ... medications and surgery produce substantially more weight loss on average ... this set of results indicating lower access to more intensive, more effective treatments among minoritized patients is troubling
Why this rating
Strong observational data showing disparity in treatment types.
Source
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Obesity Treatment in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System
Rebecca L. Tisdale et al. · medRxiv · 2024
DOI 10.1101/2024.02.02.24302244
preprint · n=2423070
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
Related findings · Adherence
- Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes/week of moderate-intensity) reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by 20-30% and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25-35%.Strong
- Increasing physical activity from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one in middle adulthood significantly reduces the risk of coronary events compared to remaining sedentary.Strong
- Resistance exercise is the only intervention capable of consistently restoring muscle function and strength in sarcopenia, partially overcoming age-related anabolic resistance.Strong
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 →