Eating habits, beliefs, attitudes and knowledge among health professionals regarding the links between obesity, nutrition and health.

OBJECTIVE To document knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and eating habits of health professionals with respect to obesity, nutrition and weight management. DESIGN A self-complete questionnaire postal survey. SETTING Primary care and dietetic practice in Scotland. SUBJECTS A systematic stratified sample of 2290 subjects incorporated general practitioners (n=1400), practice nurses (n=613) and all practising dietitians (n=360) who were members of the British Dietetic Association. RESULTS The overall response rate was 65%. All professionals showed a clear understanding of nutrition and health. Understanding of obesity as a disease and of the effectiveness of weight management using low-energy diets was limited. Below 10% had carried out audit to determine the incidence of obesity and overweight, and most were uncertain about their own effectiveness in delivering weight management advice. CONCLUSION This study confirms that health professionals have some knowledge of nutrition and weight management but are unclear how to deliver effective weight management advice. Further training is justified to ensure the effective provision of nutritional advice to patients.