The Importance of Gender of Patients and General Practitioners in Relation to Treatment Practices for Overweight

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that men and women are treated differently for similar disease including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Differences in attitudes and treatment practices towards men and women with obesity are not well recognized. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the attitudes and treatment practices among Danish general practitioners (GPs), in relation to treatment of overweight, while taking gender of both the patients and practitioners into account. DESIGN: Questionnaire inventory covertly examining attitudes and practices among Danish general practitioners towards treatment of overweight. All 3.637 general practitioners from the Danish Medical Association register were invited to participate in the survey. In total 1.136 participated. RESULTS: The GPs found weight loss to be more important for overweight male than overweight female patients. They also treated complications to overweight more rigorously among male than female patients, and recommended lipid lowering medicine more often to male than female overweight patients. In addition, the younger female GPs and older male GPs more often said that they would treat an overweight patient with lipid lowering medicine. CONCLUSION: Among general practitioners in Denmark, treatment for weight loss is more often practiced for overweight male than overweight female patients presenting with same symptoms. In addition, hyperlipidemia among overweight males is also more often treated with lipid lowering medicine than hyperlipidemia among overweight females.