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Review
. 2025 Jan 8:15598276241309248.
doi: 10.1177/15598276241309248. Online ahead of print.

Breaking the Silence on Obesity

Aliye B Cepni  1 , Fatima K Nadeem  2 , Tracey A Ledoux  1 , Craig A Johnston  1
Affiliations
Review

Breaking the Silence on Obesity

Aliye B Cepni et al. Am J Lifestyle Med. .

Abstract

Obesity is a significant global public health concern, and health care providers play a crucial role in addressing it by offering healthy lifestyle counseling and weight management support. Evidence demonstrates that even brief counseling on healthy behaviors can lead to meaningful changes and sustained weight management. However, weight consultations are often underutilized in primary care due to various barriers, including biases against patients with obesity, misconception of physicians with obesity, or concerns about stigmatizing them by initiating discussions about weight. This paper explores the impact of biases, misconceptions, and stigma on the communication and treatment of patients with obesity and proposes strategies to overcome these challenges. Practical solutions include fostering inclusive health care environments for individuals of all body sizes and utilizing the 5A model (Ask, Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist) to guide respectful and effective weight management conversations.

Keywords: communication; counseling; lifestyle; primary care; stigma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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