Coding and Obesity: Room to Grow

Introduction: Obesity is the leading health problem in the United States. Providers often fail to document obesity in patients whose body mass index (BMI) is more than 30. Methods: Using a structured data query of the military health system electronic medical record, we determined the BMI and presence of an associated International Classification of Disease code in a cohort of more than 3 million patients. Results: Fifteen percent of patients (482,628) had a BMI exceeding 30. Of those patients with a BMI more than 30, 78,776 (16%) had an associated International Classification of Disease 9 code documenting obesity in their record. Conclusion: Coding and documentation of obesity is inadequate. This has implications for delivery of preventive counseling and efforts to mitigate rising trends in obesity. (J Am Board Fam Med 2011; 24: 329-330.)