More Patients Are Being Asked about Their Weight, Eating Habits

“The California Medical Association Foundation and the California Association of Health Plans have developed a "tool kit" for doctors to talk with patients about their weight. The tool kit is an outgrowth of the governor's 2005 summit on health. ‘Less than one-third of overweight patients report being counseled by their physicians regarding obesity,’ said Dr. Frank Staggers of the California Medical Association Foundation. Nine out of 10 Californians want their doctors to be their primary source of information about nutrition, physical activity and other issues associated with weight management, he said, citing a recent survey. Last year, the fourth annual ‘F as in Fat’ report from the Trust for America's Health found more than one out of five adults in California were obese and one out of eight youths 10-17 were overweight. Those numbers are only slightly better than the national average.”