Elsevier

Obesity Medicine

Volume 17, March 2020, 100158
Obesity Medicine

Short communication
Dietary weight loss strategies for self and patients: A cross-sectional survey of female physicians

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obmed.2019.100158Get rights and content

Highlights

  • We examined the weight-loss strategies that female physicians use themselves and/or prescribe clinically.

  • The physicians themselves tend to use intermittent fasting and ketogenic or low-carbohydrate diets.

  • To their patients, they tend to recommend the same diets that they follow themselves, as well as several additional diets.

  • These latter diets include commercial, Mediterranean, Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH).

Abstract

We examined the personal dietary weight-loss strategies of female physicians and what they recommend to their patients. The most common personal dietary strategies were 14–24 h intermittent fasting (72%); very low-carbohydrate, ketogenic (46%); and calorie-restricted low-carbohydrate (26%). They reported recommending similar methods to their patients, with some exceptions.

Introduction

Overweight and obesity are nutrition-related disorders and at the root of many common causes of morbidity and mortality (Hruby and Hu, 2015). Research suggests that physicians can be more likely to recommend health behaviors that they practice themselves (Vickers et al., 2007), and disclosing their own lifestyle practices increases patients’ motivation to adopt those behaviors (Lobelo et al., 2009). The purpose of this study was to examine the personal dietary weight-loss strategies of physicians who are themselves engaged in weight loss or management, in addition to examining their potential impact on the prescription of weight-loss methods to their patients.

Section snippets

Methods

Begun July 7, 2016, the “Women Physicians Weigh In” group is an online, Facebook-based support group for female physicians mostly in the United States interested in weight loss and/or weight maintenance (https://physiciansweighin.com/). Between February and March 2018 we asked members to answer an online survey. During that time there were 1,999 posts, 25,647 comments, and 98,731 reactions, with a starting membership of 10,187. We asked about demographics, weight changes, participation in the

Results

A total of 1,151 members began the survey, with roughly 900 answering key questions in the survey (yielding a participation rate of about 9%). Group characteristics are in Table 1. Members’ average reported current Body Mass Index was 24.9 kg/m2 (SD = 4.9). Mean reported weight change over the previous year was −13.2 pounds (SD = 19.0) and −6.6% (SD = 9.4), with 61.1% and 34.4% reporting having lost at least 5% and 10% of their body weight, respectively. Since they first joined the group, 55.3%

Discussion

In a large cross-sectional survey of participants in an online support group for female physicians interested in weight loss and/or weight maintenance, many respondents reported successful personal use of various dietary weight-loss strategies, including less standard approaches such as intermittent fasting. They also frequently reported recommending the same methods to their patients. Limitations include our cross-sectional study design, low response rate, a female-only sample, and possible

Author contributions

Dr. Saslow had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Saslow, Hendrix.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: All authors.

Drafting of the manuscript: All authors.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Funding/support

Dr. Saslow is supported by a K01 award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), DK107456, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Declaration of competing interest

Dr. Hendrix founded the Women Physicians Weigh In group. We have no other declarations of interest.

Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the Women Physicians Weigh In group and Gary Taubes for their help. Dr. Hendrix founded the Women Physicians Weigh In group. No other disclosures are reported.

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