Results: Primary care physicians overwhelmingly
supported additional training (such as nutrition
counselling) and practice-based changes (such as
having scales report body mass index) to help them
improve their obesity care. They also identified
nutritionists/dietitians as the most qualified providers
to care for obese patients. Physicians with fewer than
20 years since completion of medical school were
more likely to identify lack of information about good
eating habits and lack of access to healthy food as
important causes of obesity. They also reported feeling
relatively more successful helping obese patients lose
weight. The response rate for the survey was 25.6%.
Conclusions: Our results indicate a perceived need
for improved medical education related to obesity care.