Obesity Management in Primary Care: Tailor Nutrition Plans to Individual Patient Needs
Before creating a nutrition plan for patients with obesity, clinicians should first understand their eating patterns, says one obesity expert.
"Certainly one of the more difficult things to talk about to patients about is diet and nutrition plans," said Alina Elperin, MD, in a recent interview with Patient Care Online about obesity management in the primary care setting. "When I say difficult, I mean it can be tricky because of how individualized our approach needs to be and how sensitive we should be to our patients' cultural preferences and individual lifestyles and nutritional needs." Dr Elperin is an internist and obesity medicine specialist in Evanston, Illinois, as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.
In the video below, Dr Elperin discusses essential questions that primary care clinicians can ask patients with obesity to start a conversation around their eating patterns, which diets are most beneficial to patients with obesity, and the importance of collaboration between primary care clinicians and obesity specialists.
