Geographical Disparities of available ABOM Diplomates in States with Higher Prevalence of Obesity

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2021-12, Vol.29, p.108-109
• Main Authors: Chan, Jacqueline, Makhija, Jinal, Yap, John Erikson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Obesity; Pandemics
• ISSN: 1930-7381; 1930-739X

Background: The obesity pandemic in the US continues to increase and at this rate, it is predicted that everyone will suffer from obesity by year 2100. In this era of obesity prevalence, there is a pervasive and strong culture of weight stigma even in healthcare workers. This discrimination is detrimental as it can result in poor care and worse outcomes. There is data that American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) diplomates provides better evidence-base management of obesity. To tackle this pandemic, we need enough ABOM diplomates especially in areas with very high prevalence of obesity. We aim to look at the disparities of ABOM diplomates in relation to obesity prevalence. Methods: Obesity prevalence and population data were compiled from the State of childhood obesity, CDC, and US Census Bureau for the year 2019. The ABOM Diplomate data was obtained from the ABOM directory of certified physicians on April 9, 2021. We computed the overall prevalence of obesity using the population above 10 years of age per state. An absolute number of ABOM diplomates per state was used for analysis. All US states except New Jersey were divided into five obesity prevalence categories [22-25%, 25.1-28%, 28.1-31%, 31.1- 34%, >34%]. The mean number of patients with obesity per provider was compared across these categories by ANOVA test. Patients per provider ratio was underestimated in this study as we did not have recent data for children age 30% and out of them, 6 states had >34% prevalence. There was a significant difference in mean patients per provider ratio across the categories of obesity prevalence [P value = 0.0009]. Mean patients per provider ratio was highest in 6 states (AR, KY, MS, OK, TN, WV), which has the highest prevalence of obesity. Conclusions: There seems to be disparities with regards to the number of ABOM diplomates in states with very high obesity prevalence. More ABOM diplomates are needed to counteract this pandemic especially in areas with the highest prevalence of obesity.