Overcoming Barriers to Weight Loss Practice Guidelines in Primary Care

• Solutions to barriers of weight loss and obesity treatment in primary care.
• Lifestyle and weight loss guideline; utilizing a multifactorial practice process.
• Individualized provider-patient collaborative plans are integral to success.
• Exercise, counselling, diet therapy, and commercially prepared meal replacements.
• Recognizing and addressing the impact of the sociocultural influences.

Obesity as a diagnosis requires assessment, a treatment plan, and follow-up within the primary care setting. Barriers and pitfalls exist in each of these aspects that impede successful management of obesity. This article addresses solutions identified in current research for tailoring weight loss guidelines. Key methods recommended include the use of facilitation taxonomy to guide implementation of a practice process focused on lifestyle management, the 5A's as an approach to creating a guideline, lifestyle counseling and behavioral therapy, increasing physical activity, self-monitoring of nutritional intake, weight loss medications, and addressing the variety of individual barriers to lifestyle change from sociocultural influences.