In a 2010 review of the training of health professionals for prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, the Royal College of Physicians concluded [4] that:

‘health professionals either lack appreciation of the health and medical consequences of obesity or lack confidence and the ability to help […and…] too often health professionals ignore the obvious signs or symptoms of obesity or simply instruct the individual to go on a diet and lose significant weight.’ 

Similarly, Professor Anthony Leeds of the University of Surrey has highlighted [3] the fact that specific training on obesity management is missing from most GP training programmes, and most GPs are better equipped to deal with the consequences of obesity, such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and osteoarthritis, than they are to help patients deal with the underlying weight gain which has caused the problem.​