Simple Change by Your Doctor Can Help You Lose Weight, Study Reveals

Some doctors see more successful patient weight loss outcomes than others, and a lot of this might come down to their communication style.

In a new study by the University of Oxford, researchers found that subtle changes in a physician's tone of voice and word choice can result in significantly different weight loss outcomes among their patients.

Over 40 percent of people in the U.S. are classified as being obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2019 alone, the medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was nearly $173 billion as a result of obesity-related health conditions like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. But the impact of doctors on their patient's ability lose weight has not been well studied.

"Our results contradict some national guidance for clinicians," Charlotte Albury, a researcher within the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford and lead author on the study, told Newsweek. "Until now, the long-term impact of communication variations in this context remained unexplored. Our findings give us a new understanding that could significantly alter how medical professionals approach conversations with patients."

In their study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine on November 6, Albury and her team analyzed 246 recordings from doctor-patient conversations in which doctors offered their patients a referral to a 12-week weight loss program. By studying their tone, word choice and framing, the researchers were able to class these conversations into three main communication styles: good news, bad news and neutral.

• Good news: Doctors focused on the benefits of weight loss, presenting the weight loss program as an opportunity and communicating a sense of optimism and positivity. Delivery was fluent and cheerful.
• Bad news: Doctors framed obesity as a problem that needed solving, asserting themselves as the expert and focusing on the challenges of weight control while conveying a sense of regret and pessimism. Delivery was slower and often interrupted with hesitation.
• Neutral: Doctors were not overly focused on benefits or issues and presented the referral program without a clear preference. Delivery was steady with constant voice tone.

"What we found was that when doctors framed the conversation as 'good news' – emphasizing the benefits and opportunities of weight loss in a positive manner – patients were more likely to enroll in a weight loss program, attend more sessions, and, importantly, lose more weight compared to a neutral or negative framing," Albury said.

In terms of patient outcomes, 83 percent of patients who had been given the good news approach attended the weight loss program, compared to just 50 percent of those who received the neutral and bad news delivery.

"These patients lost approximately half a stone (7 pounds) more compared to those who received 'neutral' or 'bad' news," Albury said.

The communication styles were not randomized, so it is possible that the patients who were more amenable to taking advice and more likely to enroll in the program were also more likely to elicit a positive response from their physicians.

However, while further studies will be needed to confirm these results, this research highlights the harms of negative language around weight loss and obesity.

"We know words matter, and this research shows they really do, in the short and long term," Albury said. "Overall, our research shows that subtle changes in communication can significantly influence patient outcomes one year later. The elements that constituted 'good news' were subtle but had a clear and positive impact."

Update 11/08/23, 5:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Charlotte Albury.