Physicians certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine provideevidence-basedcare

Our objective was to determine the clinical services offered by American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) Diplomates and whether guideline concordant services varied by clinical practice attributes. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2019 ABOM Diplomate survey (response rate 19.2%). Respondents (n = 494) self-reported services offered: nutrition, exercise, mental health, minimally invasive bariatric procedures, perioperative bariatric surgical care and FDA-approved anti-obesity medications. We graded concordance of services offered with three evidence-based obesity guidelines, and then conducted bivariate analyses comparing concordance by practice attributes. Most responding ABOM Diplomates offered nutrition (90.1%), exercise (67.8%) and mental health (76.7%). Few offered minimally invasive procedures (24.3%), and most provided perioperative surgical care (63.0%). Most (83.4%) prescribed FDA-approved medications-typically both short- and long-term agents (70.9%). Few Diplomates had low concordance with the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/The Obesity Society (AHA/ACC/TOS) guidelines (24.7%). Those who managed more obesity-related conditions and endorsed AHA/ACC/TOS guideline use had higher concordance with these recommendations. No differences in guideline concordance existed by population, clinical effort or location. We found similar findings regarding concordance with ) American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists/American College of Endocrinology and Obesity Medicine Association guidelines. In conclusion, most responding ABOM Diplomates offer evidence-based obesity medicine services. Clinicians may therefore have increased confidence in patient receipt of evidence-based care when referring to an ABOM Diplomate.

Automated summary

The study found that most ABOM Diplomates offer evidence-based obesity medicine services, such as nutrition, exercise, mental health, etc., and are in line with multiple obesity guidelines. Clinicians managing more obesity-related conditions and endorsing guidelines are more likely to provide guideline-concordant services.