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August 23, 2007

VA/DoD clinical practice guideline for screening and management of overweight and obesity

Objective: Screen all adults for overweight or obesity.
Recommendations:
- Adult patients should have their BMI calculated from their height and weight to establish a diagnosis of overweight or obesity.
- Obese patients (BMI >30 kg/m2) should be offered weight loss treatment. . . .
- Overweight patients (BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2) or patients with increased waist circumference (>40 inches for men; >35 inches for women) should be assessed for the presence of obesity-associated conditions that are directly influenced by weight, to determine the benefit they might receive from weight loss treatment.
- Normal weight patients (BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2) should be provided with education regarding healthy lifestyle behaviors, advised of their BMI and their weight range margins, and instructed to return for further evaluation should those margins be exceeded.

Posted by Gary Holden at August 23, 2007 2:22 PM