Weight and obesity is a public health issue in Canada as more than 67 per cent of Canadian men, and 54 per cent of women are considered overweight or obese.
The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has drafted new recommendations for clinicians and policy-makers after reviewing currently existing prevention and treatment literature. The task force created the following recommendations:
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Body-mass index should be calculated during visits to a primary care provider.
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Doctors should not offer formal interventions aimed to help prevent weight-gain to individuals who are considered normal-weight.
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Doctors should not offer pharmacological interventions to individuals who are overweight and obese.
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Doctors should offer formal interventions, such as diet and lifestyle changes, to patients who are overweight or obese, especially if they are at high risk of developing diabetes.
The recommendations made by the task force do not apply to pregnant women or individuals with eating disorders.
Original research paper published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on January 26, 2015.
