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Obesity - Management
How should I approach managing a person's weight?
- Aim to help the person increase their physical activity levels and improve their diet and eating behaviour.
- Consider the use of behavioural interventions to achieve this aim.
- When deciding on treatment type, consider the person's:
- Preferences.
- Degree of overweight or obesity.
- Level of risk (using body mass index and waist circumference, if appropriate).
- Comorbidities.
- Social circumstances.
- Previous treatments.
- The person's level of risk and their potential for health benefits from weight loss should be considered when deciding on the intensity of an intervention.
- The person should be given a copy of their main goals, according to their needs.
- Offer a level of support appropriate to the person's needs.
- Offer encouragement and praise for successes, however small.
- If a person declines intervention, offer them the opportunity to make contact in the future for support and advice if they change their mind.
Clarification / Additional information
- Any behavioural intervention should be delivered with the support of an appropriately trained professional.
- Behavioural interventions for adults should include the following strategies, as appropriate for the person:
- Self monitoring of behaviour and progress
- Stimulus control
- Goal setting
- Slowing rate of eating
- Ensuring social support
- Problem solving
- Assertiveness
- Cognitive restructuring (modifying thoughts)
- Reinforcement of changes
- Relapse prevention
- Strategies for dealing with weight regain
[NICE, 2006b]
- The level of behavioural intervention will depend on the availability of local resources.
Basis for recommendation
- This recommendation is based on guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the prevention, identification, assessment, and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children [NICE, 2006b].
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