Medical Student Perceptions of Obesity Treatment

Background and Hypothesis: Obesity is an increasingly common disease with serious public health impact. Although reasons for under-utilization of treatment options for obesity have been examined at the practitioner level, few, if any, studies have ascertained perceptions of medical students with regard to obesity treatment. This study aimed to determine medical student perceptions of obesity treatment, with focus on medications and factors that may be associated with such perceptions.

Methods: A web-based anonymous survey was administered to first- and second-year medical students at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine. To participate in the study students needed to be at least 18 years of age and provide informed voluntary consent to complete the survey. Factors that were assessed regarding study subjects included age, gender, body mass index, intended specialty, and history of weight loss attempts. Principal component analysis and Pearson’s correlation were used to statistically analyze survey data.

Results: One hundred seventy-five subjects ages 18-30 participated in the survey, out of which 168 completed the survey in full. At least 60% of participants were female second year medical students. A combined 61.1% of participants had tried to intentionally lose more than 5 pounds with diet (55.4%) and/or exercise (53.7%). Forty-eight percent of participants used 2 methods for weight loss. Male gender was associated with negative weight bias (p < 0.01). Higher BMI was associated with importance of obesity treatment and knowledge of medications (p < 0.05). Further results and analysis are pending.

Conclusion: This study showed that gender and BMI are two factors that influence weight bias and views on obesity treatment, respectively. This data could be used to improve obesity education for medical students.

Acknowledgement of Research Study Sponsors and IRB: The authors thank Rowan-Virtua Family Medicine for their support with this project. The study was approved by Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine’s Institutional Review Board.