Perceived barriers include a lack of reimbursement for educational functions, a lack of time, a lack of training in counseling and low confidence in doing it, and a belief that behaviors of overweight people cannot be changed. Yet, when a healthcare provider advises weight loss, people are three times more likely to try to lose weight than without that advice. It's clear that obesity cannot be ignored. Healthcare providers must overcome their discomfort and other barriers to communication in order to address the problem. Nurses, who encounter people in a variety of settings, must strive to present information about obesity, diet and exercise in a nonjudgmental and helpful manner.
Nurses can be role models, demonstrating the results of a healthy lifestyle to patients.
Losing weight and keeping it off is difficult. But it can be done. Health and lives depend on it. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute . References National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute .