Open AccessPerceptions, attitudes and barriers to obesity management: Japanese data from the ACTION‐IO study
Author(s) -
Iwabu Masato,
Yamauchi Toshimasa,
Shimomura Iichiro,
Eguchi Kosei,
Ogawa Yoshihiro
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of diabetes investigation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.089
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 2040-1124
pISSN - 2040-1116
DOI - 10.1111/jdi.13427
Subject(s) - feeling , medicine , obesity , conversation , weight loss , weight management , health care , management of obesity , perception , health professionals , family medicine , action (physics) , psychology , social psychology , physics , communication , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , economics , economic growth
Aims/Introduction The prevalence of obesity is rising in Japan and represents a considerable unmet medical need. The Awareness, Care and Treatment in Obesity MaNagement – International Observation (ACTION‐IO) study was designed to identify the perceptions, attitudes and barriers to obesity care among people with obesity (PwO) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Japan. Materials and Methods An online, cross‐sectional survey was carried out in 11 countries, including Japan. Results The survey was completed by 2,001 PwO and 302 HCPs in Japan. Fewer PwO (58%) than HCPs (85%) perceived obesity as a chronic disease. Most PwO (81%) thought that weight loss was their own responsibility, and waited a considerable time before seeking support from their HCP (mean 6 years). Most PwO (64%) had made one or more serious weight loss attempt in the past. In contrast, a serious attempt at losing weight was reported by HCPs for just 21% of their patients. Just 24% of PwO had weight discussions with an HCP in the past 5 years; of those, 56% expressed positive feelings after such a conversation, and just 2% felt offended. Lack of patient motivation (68%) and patient disinterest (61%) were reported by HCPs as barriers to weight management conversations. A higher proportion of obesity specialists (37%) than non‐specialists (22%) thought their patients were motivated to lose weight. Conclusions Our Japanese dataset shows a need to raise awareness of the pathophysiological basis and clinical management of obesity among PwO and HCPs. The largely positive feelings expressed by PwO after weight loss conversations should encourage HCPs to initiate earlier discussions before obesity‐related complications occur.