GPs are failing to offer appropriate treatment to overweight and obese patients, according to an analysis of patient records. Researchers looked at anonymous data from 90,000 obese and overweight adults between 2005 and 2012. They discovered that GPs had not recorded any weight management interventions in 90 per cent of cases. Where interventions were made, GPs usually provided dietary and exercise advice, except in the most severe cases, when drug treatment was prescribed.

In addition, there was little recorded evidence to show that GPs had monitored patients’ weight loss progress after making an intervention, and no evidence at all that outcomes were tracked after five years. Writing in BMJ Open, the authors concluded: “The growing burden of obesity on primary healthcare services and lack of long-term follow up on the effectiveness of these treatments supports the use of structured recording of interventions for weight management.”