Table 1:
Resident Attitudes and Knowledge of Obesity Care, A Cross-Sectional Survey
| Survey Items | Agree/Strongly Agree(%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGY1 | PGY2 | PGY3 | p value | |
| 1. Obesity is a chronic disease. | 91 | 94 | 96 | .63 |
| 2. Obese patients could reach a normal weight if they were motivated . | 51 | 47 | 58 | .96 |
| 3. I have negative reactions towards the appearance of obese patients. | 17 | 24 | 54 | .001 |
| 4. I believe it's necessary to educate obese patients on the health risks of obesity. | 97 | 97 | 100 | .41 |
| 5. For most obese patients, long term maintenance of weight loss is impossible. | 14 | 19 | 19 | .45 |
| 6. Most obese patients are well aware of the health risks of obesity. | 29 | 22 | 15 | .09 |
| 7. If a patient meets the appropriate criteria I would recommend an evaluation by a surgeon. | 51 | 62 | 58 | .80 |
| 8. I often feel uncomfortable when examining an obese patient. | 6 | 11 | 11 | .66 |
| 9. Obesity is associated with serious medical conditions. | 94 | 100 | 100 | .25 |
| 10. I am usually successful in helping obese patients lose weight. | 11 | 11 | 8 | .28 |
| 11. Medications used to treat obesity should be used chronically. | 14 | 11 | 4 | .77 |
| 12. Most obese patients will not lose a significant amount of weight. | 47 | 35 | 73 | .006 |
| 13. It is acceptable to apply “scare tactics” to obtain the compliance of the obese patient. | 24 | 43 | 50 | .14 |
| 14. It is difficult for me to feel empathy for an obese patient. | 3 | 11 | 15 | .11 |
| 15. I feel competent in prescribing weight loss programs for obese patients. | 14 | 27 | 15 | .20 |
| 16. A 10% reduction in body weight is sufficient to significantly improve health complications. | 54 | 62 | 50 | .71 |
| 17. Physicians should be role models by maintaining a normal weight. | 80 | 76 | 96 | .18 |
| 18. Medications used to treat obesity should be limited to short-term (<3 months) use. | 47 | 49 | 58 | .76 |