Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Subscribe American Journal of Medicine Free Newsletter
Clinical ResearchHealth Care Providers’ Advice on Lifestyle Modification in the US Population: Results...

Health Care Providers’ Advice on Lifestyle Modification in the US Population: Results from the NHANES 2011-2016

 

Health care providers are encouraged to prescribe lifestyle modifications for preventing and managing obesity and associated chronic conditions. However, the pattern of lifestyle advice provision is unknown. We investigate the prevalence of advised lifestyle modification according to weight status and chronic conditions in a US nationally representative sample.

Methods

Adults ages 20-64years (n = 11,467) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2011 and 2016 were analyzed, with weight status and chronic conditions (high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, osteoarthritis, coronary heart disease, and type 2 diabetes mellitus). Lifestyle modification advice by health care providers included: increase physical activity/exercise, reduce dietary fat/calories, control/lose weight, and all of the above.

Results

High blood pressure (32.7%) and cholesterol (29.3%) were highly prevalent compared with osteoarthritis (7.4%), type 2 diabetes (5.7%), and coronary heart disease (3.7%). Those with type 2 diabetes received considerably more frequent advice (56.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 52.4%-60.6%) than those with high blood pressure (31.4%; 95% CI, 29.3%-33.6%) and cholesterol (27.0%; 95% CI, 24.9%-29.3%). Prevalence of lifestyle advice exhibited substantial increases with graded body mass index and comorbidity (all P < .001). After adjusting for comorbid conditions, advice was more commonly reported among women, those overweight/obese, nonwhite, or insured. A remarkably low proportion of overweight (21.4; 95% CI, 18.7%-24.3%) and obese (44.2%; 95% CI, 41.0%-47.4%) adults free of chronic conditions reported receiving any lifestyle advice.

Conclusions

Prevalence of lifestyle modification advised by health care providers is generally low among US adults with chronic conditions, and worryingly low among those without chronic conditions, however overweight or obese. Prescribed lifestyle modification is a missing opportunity in implementing sustainable strategies to reduce chronic condition burden.

To read this article in its entirety please visit our website.

-Igor Grabovac, MD, PhDa, Lee Smith, PhDb, Sinisa Stefanac, MScOTc,d,, Sandra Haider, PhDa, Chao Cao, MPHe, Thomas Waldhoer, PhDf, Sarah E. Jackson, PhDg, Lin Yang, PhDf,h,i

This article originally appeared in the April issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Latest Posts

lupus

Sarcoidosis with Lupus Pernio in an Afro-Caribbean Man

A 54-year-old man of Afro-Caribbean ancestry presented with a 2-month history of nonproductive cough, 10-day history of constant subjective fevers, and a 1-day history...
Flue Vaccine

Flu Vaccination to Prevent Cardiovascular Mortality (video)

0
"Influenza can cause a significant burden on patients with coronary artery disease," write Barbetta et al in The American Journal of Medicine. For this...
varicella zoster

Varicella Zoster Virus-Induced Complete Heart Block

0
Complete heart block is usually caused by chronic myocardial ischemia and fibrosis but can also be induced by bacterial and viral infections. The varicella...
Racial justice in healthcare

Teaching Anti-Racism in the Clinical Environment

0
"Teaching Anti-Racism in the Clinical Environment: The Five-Minute Moment for Racial Justice in Healthcare" was originally published in the April 2023 issue of The...
Invisible hand of the market

The ‘Invisible Hand’ Doesn’t Work for Prescription Drugs

0
Pharmaceutical innovation has been responsible for many “miracles of modern medicine.” Reliance on the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith to allocate resources in the...
Joseph S. Alpert, MD

New Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors

0
"New Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors" by AJM Editor-in Chief Joseph S. Alpert, MD was originally published in the April 2023 issue of The...
Cardiovascular risk from noncardiac activities

Cardiac Risk Related to Noncardiac & Nonsurgical Activities

0
"Assessment of Cardiovascular Risk for Noncardiac and Nonsurgical Activities" was originally published in the April 2023 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. Cardiovascular risk...