Obesity is becoming a major problem affecting health and health care in the United States. While counseling patients on weight loss is effective, it is infrequently done. Lack of time, training, confidence, and reimbursement are some of the identified barriers to weight loss counseling. More research is needed, looking at these and other barriers, specifically, as they relate to nurse practitioners (NPs). This article looks at barriers to obesity counseling and how NPs can improve weight loss counseling.
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In compliance with national ethical guidelines, the authors report no relationships with business or industry that would pose a conflict of interest.
1Jedediah Stevens Briscoe, MS, FNP, is a nurse practitioner for Promise Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT
2Judith A. Berry, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, ANP-BC, is an associate professor and co-coordinator of the family nurse practitioner program at Brigham Young University.
ABSTRACT