Objective: To determine the practices of Family Physicians/General Practitioners in Kingston and St Andrew regarding the management of adult obesity and compare their management to the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association/ Task Force on Practice Guidelines and The Obesity Society (AHA/ACC/TOS) Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.

 

Methods: A cross-sectional study was done of Family Physicians/General Practitioners in the Kingston and St Andrew area. A Census approach was used with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire and practices compared to the American Guidelines for Obesity Management.

 

Results: There were 117 respondents out of the 155 Family physicians/General practitioners. While most physicians were found to have medium to high level practice scores, 23% had low practice scores. Diagnosis of obesity using body mass index (BMI) was high (99%), but only 64% employed hormonal assays. Almost 36% did not refer patients with BMI > 40 kg/m2 for bariatric surgery.

 

Conclusion: Assessed against existing guidelines, physicians were found generally to have medium to high practice levels regarding management of obesity, however, gaps remain to be closed.