5As-Based Training Improves Family Medicine Residents’ Confidence and Skills in Obesity Counseling

Dr Sanjay Kalra, Treasurer, International Society of Endocrinology (ISE), Vice President, South Asian Obesity Forum (SOF), Bharti Hospital, Karnal, INDIA

A comprehensive obesity management course improved residents’ attitudes toward people living with obesity.

A study published in BMC Medical Education evaluated the impact of the 5AsT-MD course, an obesity management training program designed for family medicine residents. Developed around the 5As of Obesity Management™ framework, Ask, Assess, Advise, Agree, and Assist, the course aimed to strengthen residents’ knowledge, confidence, and counseling skills in obesity care.

The program combined lectures with experiential learning activities, including a bariatric empathy suit experience, standardized and in-clinic patient encounters, and narrative reflection exercises. Researchers assessed changes in attitudes, beliefs, and self-confidence among 42 residents and analyzed participants’ reflections to better understand their learning experiences.

Following the course, residents demonstrated significantly improved attitudes toward people living with obesity and greater confidence in providing obesity counseling. Significant gains were reported in assessing root causes of weight gain, advising patients on treatment options, agreeing on health goals, and helping patients address barriers to care.

Residents also showed increased confidence in counseling patients about weight gain during pregnancy, depression and anxiety, medication-related weight gain, and childhood obesity, as well as in referring patients to interdisciplinary care providers. Overall, the findings suggest that the 5AsT-MD course can improve residents’ confidence and competency in obesity prevention and management counseling.

(Reference: Luig, T., Wicklum, S., Heatherington, M. et al. Improving obesity management training in family medicine: multi-methods evaluation of the 5AsT-MD pilot course. BMC Med Educ 20, 5 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1908-0)