Full Citation

Title: Beliefs about the causes of obesity in a national sample of 4th year medical students

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2015

ISBN:

ISSN: 07383991

DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2015.06.017

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID: 26143579

Abstract: OBJECTIVE Physician knowledge of the complex contributors to obesity varies. We do not know whether today's medical students are graduating with deep understanding of the causes of obesity. Our objective was to assess beliefs about causes of obesity in a national sample of 4th year medical students. METHOD We randomly selected 2000 4th year students from a random sample of 50 U.S. medical schools and asked them to rate the importance of several factors as causes of obesity. Of those invited, 1244 (62%) responded. We conducted latent class analysis to identify groups with similar response patterns. RESULTS Most students demonstrated knowledge that obesity has multiple contributors. Students fell into 1 of 4 classes: (1) more likely to endorse all contributors (28%), (2) more likely to endorse physiological contributors (27%), (3) more likely to endorse behavioral or social contributors (24%), and (4) unlikely to endorse contributors outside of overeating and physical activity (22%). CONCLUSION Though students were generally aware of multiple causes, there were 4 distinct patterns of beliefs, with implications for patient care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Targeted interventions may help to improve depth of knowledge about the causes of obesity and lead to more effective care for obese patients.

Url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26143579

Url: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC4747081

Url: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0738399115002864

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Phelan, Sean M.; Burgess, Diana J.; Burke, Sara E.; Przedworski, Julia M; Dovidio, John F.; Hardeman, Rachel; Morris, Megan A; van Ryn, Michelle

Periodical (Full): Patient Education and Counseling

Issue: 11

Volume: 98

Pages: 1446-1449

Countries: