Concepts of obesity in family practice

RESUMO

In this study, 502 adults (409 women, 93 men) attending a Group Teaching Family Practice were weighed, their heights were measured and they were then interviewed on their concepts and beliefs about obesity. The results conformed other reports that the prevalence of obesity is high; 46% of women and 17% of men were found to have body mass indices greater than 27.0 and 27.4 respectively. Of the 198 obese responts, only 94 (47%) considered themselves to be fat, whilw self-image in the nom-obese was more realistic with 176 (59%) thinking that they were right size; 18.7% of respondents thought that obesity was associated with good health, 29.9% associated obesity with wealth and 36.3% associated obesity with happiness. Two hundred and four respondents (40.6) believed that men preferred their women to be fat, female respondents being more often of this view. Concepts as to the cause of obesity were found to differ from medical teaching with 195 (39%) respondents believing obesity to be hereditary and only 215 (42.8%) associating obesity with overeating. These views should be appreciated by health-care provuders, who should try to change them, if necessary, before making efforts to prevent and treat obsity