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Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) April 14, 2004 -- Physicians are the most respected voice on nutrition in America, yet what they take themselves when trying to lose weight appears to be different than what they prescribe for their patients, according to a new study which appears in The Archives of Internal Medicine this week, available online at http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/164/7/806

In a study of 394 practicing physicians, the study found that only 11% of physicians had taken a weight loss agent. Of those who had, however, 19 (54%) had taken a drugstore remedy, and 16 (46%) took prescription medication. Almost half of the physicians--44%--were overweight or obese.

In contrast to physicians’ own habits, however, nearly all (273 or 90%) of the 303 physician recommendations to patients were for prescription medication. Only 30 or 10% of recommendations were for a drugstore remedy (specifically, “herbal products” or phenylpropanolamine). Most responding physicians (265 or 66%) had not recommended or prescribed weight loss products at all.

Dr. John La Puma, M.D., director of the Santa Barbara Institute for Medical Nutrition and Healthy Weight led the study, and comments, “Many physicians are wary of prescription drug side effects--no one wants to prescribe another phen/fen. Few physicians have the time and resources to help people lose weight and keep it off. We need more physicians who specialize in nutrition and are willing to work with patients step-by-step to teach them not only how to lose weight, but also how to keep it off.”

Dr. La Puma and his co-authors also hypothesize that cost of medication also “contributes to physician personal preference for NPWLP (non prescription weight loss products) over prescription drugs.”

The research was presented as a paper at the University of Chicago’s Annual Conference on Alternative Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, December 2002. Research physician Philippe Szapary, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and nutrition expert Kevin C. Maki, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer for Radiant Research of Chicago, Illinois co-authored the research paper. The correct citation is Archives of Internal Medicine 2004; 164:806-807.

Alternative Lead: A few physicians specialize in nutrition and see patients who want to lose weight no matter what it takes using balanced targeted foods, fitness and lifestyle change. Most physicians prescribe weight loss medication and weight loss herbal supplements to their patients. But what do docs do themselves?

About Dr. La Puma
John La Puma, M.D., F.A.C.P. is board-certified in internal medicine and co-author of The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat (HarperCollins, 2001). Dr. La Puma directs the Santa Barbara Institute for Medical Nutrition and Healthy Weight, specializes in nutrition, and sees patients from all over the U.S., who want to lose weight, lower cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar no matter what it takes, using nutrition, fitness and lifestyle change.

Dr. La Puma’s work has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the AMA, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, and he has appeared on major network outlets (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CNN and PBS) nationwide. In 2003, he taught the first cooking class in the country to medical students, at SUNY and was named "One of the Country’s Top Physicians" by the Consumer’s Research Council. Dr. La Puma is based in Santa Barbara, California.

For additional information, contact:
John La Puma, MD, FACP
Medical Director, The Santa Barbara Institute for Medical Nutrition and Healthy Weight
Voice: 805.687.9345
Clinical Office: 805.569.7827
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 24039
Santa Barbara CA 93121
e-mail: e-mail protected from spam bots
http://www.drjohnlapuma.com

About The Archives of Internal Medicine
The Archives of Internal Medicine reaches over 100,000 American physicians bimonthly. In 2001, the Impact Factor for the ARCHIVES was 6.66, fifth highest among 112 internal medicine journals, which includes JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. It is edited by Philip Greenland, MD. Dr Greenland is the Harry W. Dingman Professor and Chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Professor of Medicine at Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine.

Archives of Internal Medicine
c/o: Department of Preventive Medicine
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
680 N. Lake Shore Dr., Suite 1102
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312/503-5387
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Fax: 312/503-5388
URL: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/