Self-reported weight loss practices among African American and Hispanic adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To describe weight loss methods used and interactions with health care professionals on the issue of weight among African Americans and Hispanics. METHODS: Five hundred thirty-seven African American and 526 Hispanic adults who self-described as being overweight participated in a telephone interview. RESULTS: Exercise and healthy eating were the 2 most commonly used weight loss methods among both groups; prescription medications were the least-utilized weight loss aid. Forty-one percent of African Americans and 35% of Hispanics reported having been advised to lose weight by a health care professional. CONCLUSIONS: Do-it-yourself approaches to weight loss predominate among African Americans and Hispanics; formal assistance is rarely used. Physician advice on weight loss is suboptimal.

Weight management advice: what do doctors recommend to their patients?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the weight management interventions that a broad population of adults reported receiving from physicians and assess what drug-related and behavioral information physicians provided when they prescribe weight loss medications. METHODS: A random-digit dialed telephone survey was conducted in 2005-2006 with a representative sample of 3,500 American adults. RESULTS: The most frequently reported interventions were having a doctor tell them about the health problems associated with being overweight (48.0%), or suggesting diet and exercise (46.5%). Few respondents reported having been referred to a formal diet program (5.2%), prescribed a weight loss medication (4.0%), recommended a non-prescription weight loss product (1.8%), or recommended stomach bypass surgery (1.5%). The proportion of individuals who reported each intervention increased across levels of body mass index (p<0.001). Of those who reported being prescribed a weight loss medication (n=155), only 29.5% (n=44) reported receiving all six counseling interventions that were assessed. CONCLUSIONS: Many overweight patients have not been advised to lose weight, diet, or exercise, and physicians have been particularly reluctant to recommend medications. When physicians do prescribe medications, appropriate counseling too often fails to accompany the prescription. Efforts are needed to increase the involvement of physicians in guiding patients to effective weight management approaches.

Weight loss expectations and goals in a population sample of overweight and obese US adults.

The purpose of this study was to investigate weight loss expectations and goals in a population sample of US adults who planned to make a weight loss attempt, and to examine predictors of those expectations and goals. Participants were 658 overweight and obese adults (55% women, mean age = 47.9 years, BMI = 31.8 kg/m(2)) who responded to a telephone survey about weight loss. Respondents reported weight loss expectations (i.e., reductions they realistically expected) and goals (i.e., reductions they ideally desired) for an upcoming "serious and deliberate" weight loss attempt. They also reported the expectations they had, and the reductions they actually achieved, in a previous attempt. Respondents' weight loss expectations for their upcoming attempt (8.0% reduction in initial weight) were significantly more modest than their goals for that attempt (16.8%), and smaller than the losses that they expected (12.0%), and achieved (8.9%) in their most recent past attempt (Ps

Self-reported comorbidities among self-described overweight African-American and Hispanic adults in the United States: results of a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the concordance between self-described weight status and BMI, the prevalence of self-reported comorbidities, and the association between comorbidities and self-rated health among overweight African-American and Hispanic US adults. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A nationally representative sample of 537 African-American and 526 Hispanic adults who were identified using a combination of random digit dialing and listed household sampling and self-described as being slightly or very overweight participated in a telephone interview. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate BMI. RESULTS: More than half of African Americans (56%) and one-third of Hispanics (34%) who self-described as "slightly" overweight would be classified as obese based on BMI. One-third (33%) of African Americans reported high blood pressure, followed by arthritis (20%), high cholesterol (18%), and diabetes (15%). Among Hispanics, high cholesterol was the most frequently reported comorbidity (17%), followed by high blood pressure (15%), and difficulty sleeping (12%). Almost three-quarters of African Americans surveyed (72%) reported that their overall health was good to excellent compared to 62% for Hispanics. DISCUSSION: Self-reported rates of obesity-related comorbidities fall below what would be expected based on prevalence data derived from physiologic measures, suggesting a lack of awareness of actual risk. Despite the greater self-reported prevalence of certain risk factors for poor health, African Americans have a more optimistic view of their overall health and weight status compared to Hispanics. Physicians have an important opportunity to communicate to their minority patients the serious health consequences associated with excess weight.

Use of dietary supplements for weight loss in the United States: results of a national survey.

We examined dietary supplement use for weight loss and perceptions about safety, efficacy, and regulatory oversight of these products. A random digit-dialed telephone survey was conducted in 2005-2006, with a representative sample of 3,500 US adults. The survey assessed the beliefs and practices related to weight control. Outcome measures included the prevalence of dietary supplement use for weight reduction, demographic profile of supplement users, and knowledge about safety, efficacy, and regulation of dietary supplements. Of the adults who made a serious weight-loss attempt (n = 1,444), 33.9% reported ever using a dietary supplement for weight loss. Supplement use was more common among women (44.9%) vs. men (19.8%); those aged 25-34; African Americans (48.7%) or Hispanics (41.6%) vs. whites (31.2%); less educated (38.4% high school degree or less vs. 31.1% some college or more); lower income households (41.8% made <$40K vs. 30.3% made > or =$40K); obese (40.7%) vs. overweight (29.1%); those who made more lifetime weight-loss attempts (42.0% made > or =3 vs. 22.1% made <3); and those who used more weight-loss methods (48.2% used > or =4 vs. 25.2% used <4). Many users and non-users of dietary supplements had misperceptions about these products-many believed they are evaluated for safety and efficacy by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before marketing, and that dietary supplements are safer than over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications. Use of dietary supplements for weight loss is common. More information about dietary supplements is necessary to correct misperceptions and encourage the use of safe and effective weight-loss methods.