Pratiques de contrôle du poids et implication des médecins généralistes

French women often undertake diets, even in the absence of overweight (INCA 2). This transversal quantitative study aimed at providing a status on weight loss practices, through self-administered questionnaires distributed to 1026 patients coming for general medicine consultations in the region of Pays de la Loire, from April 17th till June 27th, 2014. The secondary objective of the study was to capture patients’ expectations with regards to the role of their general practitioner in the weight follow-up. 36 % of the participants have recently been on a diet, often high-protein based diet or Weight Watchers diet. These are mostly women (84%), with normal weight (30%), who undertake it for aesthetic reasons and without medical follow-up (for 71% of them). Few participants use medication, fasting, smoking and vomiting to lose weight. 22% don’t practice any sport. The best placed people to help in weight management, listed in descending order, are the dietician, the nutritionist, the family doctor and the partner. ¾ of the population consider that weight follow-up is under the responsibility of general practitioners. However, 62% don’t speak about their weight to their doctor. 39% expect him or her to spontaneously raise the weight issue. The main obstacles invoked by the general practitioner to help with weight issues are the challenges linked to a regular follow-up and too short consultations. As diets are damageable to health (ANSES 2010), it remains essential for our society to fight against the cult of thinness that generates "excessive concerns about one’s weight"; and for the medical profession, to promote healthy weights among normal-weighted subjects and to inform about the risks associated with these diet practices.