Talking diet and exercise with teenage patients

Pediatricians may be missing out on opportunities to discuss diet and exercise with their overweight teenage patients, suggests new research published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco analyzed 2003, 2005, and 2007 state-wide telephone survey data of 9,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who had been asked about their height and weight, as well as whether their pediatricians had talked to them about nutrition, physical activity, and emotional issues such as depression at their last appointment. The height and weight measurements were used to calculate body-mass index (BMI), an index of weight in relation to height, to determine if patients were normal weight, overweight, or obese. Depending on the year they were surveyed, between 60 and 80 percent of the adolescents reported discussing physical activity and nutrition with their physician, but only 20 to 30 percent had talked about emotional distress. Compared to their obese peers, overweight adolescents were actually less likely to have discussed exercise and nutrition with their physicians. This is really unfortunate, because these physicians are missing the chance to prevent obesity by encouraging overweight teens to exercise more and eat in a more healthful manner, says ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava.

Lead author Dr. Carolyn Bradner Jasik hypothesizes that physicians already busy schedules, coupled with limited patient health coverage, may hinder their ability to discuss these issues with every overweight patient. Perhaps an associated health care worker a registered nurse practitioner, physician s assistant, or dietitian could take on the counseling job under the direction of the doctor, suggests Dr. Kava.