Every fitness, wellness or health business that works with overweight and/or obese clientele should add this obesity and health discussion guide to their must-read list.
Most fitness, wellness and health professionals are faced with discussing the often uncomfortable topic of weight loss and obesity with many of their clients at some time or another. It’s very common to have concerns about how to bring the subject up tactfully. Others may even avoid it altogether. And, unfortunately, there are probably occasions where the client may walk away offended, despite a staff person’s good intentions (and you may never even know it). The Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance has produced a discussion tool to solve this.
“Why Weight? A Guide to Discussing Obesity & Health With Your Patients” is a FREE educational guide that walks the health provider through the steps needed to have a non-threatening, honest and productive conversation about obesity and health.
Written and Developed by Experts in Obesity
This guide was developed by the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance and reviewed by a selected panel of experts—-medical professionals with decades of specialized experience in the field of obesity including research, patient care, public health and teaching.
Comprehensive Examples That You Can Readily Implement
It’s organized in an easy-to-read format and includes practical examples. For instance, there are excellent discussion starters for “beginning the conversation”, “how to address realistic goals with patients” and how to discuss “culture, traditions and social support”. There are sections on what questions to ask in order to ascertain patient readiness for change plus communication strategies for active listening.
The guide also:
- Provides a thorough and research-supported explanation as to why having productive discussions with a client is so important. (One biggie: clients who have such counseling with a healthcare provider have more success at weight loss)
- Educates your staff about misconceptions they may have about the causes of obesity
- Includes a table of words TO USE and words NOT TO USE during these conversations
- Offers practical tips on how to design the environment of your facility to better meet the needs of obese or overweight clients
~Maureen Burke, The Radial Group
