Doctors Should Screen Patients For Obesity

New York : Doctors should check weight and height for all patients to determine if they’re obese and refer them to intensive diet and exercise programs if necessary, according to new guidelines from a US govern-ment-backed panel.

The US Preventive Services Task Force said the guidelines echo its 2003 recommendations on screening for obesity, but take into account more recent evidence that adults can lose weight and keep it off with the right help.

“The good news is that even what you might consider to be modest rather than radical weight loss has tremendous health benefits, “including lowering diabetes risk and blood pressure, said Susan Curry, a member of the task force and dean of the University of lowa college of Public Health in lowa City.

“Losing 5 percent of your body weight has tremendous health benefits, and intensive behavioral counseling programs help you do that and sustain it, “Curry told Reuters Health. “Your primary care provider can, we hope, help you to find evidence-based programs.”