Doctors Fear Talk of Obesity Embarrasses Patients

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. physicians say they don’t discuss weight loss with their obese patients for fear of embarrassing them, according to a survey examining barriers to treatment in the obesity epidemic.

The ACTION survey, published last week in the journal Obesity, is one of only a few studies to compare perceptions of health care providers and obese people on where responsibility lies in treating the debilitating condition, which affects more than 38 percent of Americans.