They could be used to screen patients and to offer behavioral weight loss programs only to those who have a high probability of success. They could also be used to treat the barriers to success, such as trying to alter a person's perception of his or her body image before attempting a weight loss program. Finally, long-term drug treatment is widely accepted as appropriate therapy for hypertension and diabetes, both chronic conditions that are related to obesity. However, physicians may also have a moralistic reluctance to prescribe such drugs on the grounds that obesity is the patient's fault. There is no simple solution to the problem of obesity.
Obesity is too big a problem to be left to the physicians.
The sixth report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Arch Intern Med. Use of antihypertensive drugs. Accessed June 2000. Isles CG, Walker LM, Beevers GD, Brown I, Cameron HL, Clarke J, et al.