Stručni rad
ADDRESSING THE NEGLECT OF OBESITY IN PRIMARY HEALTHCARE IN THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA
MAGDALENA PETROVČIĆ KAFADAR
orcid.org/0009-0004-4890-3943
; Nastavni zavod za hitnu medicinu Grada Zagreba, Zagreb, Hrvatska
*
LJILJANA ĆENAN
; Specijalistička ordinacija obiteljske medicine Ljiljana Ćenan, dr. med., spec. obit. med., Ivankovo, Hrvatska
IVA PETRIČUŠIĆ
; Privatna ordinacija opće medicine Luca Petričušić, dr. med., Ivankovo, Hrvatska
JELENA RAKIĆ MATIĆ
; Dom zdravlja Zagreb Zapad, Zagreb, Hrvatska
ANA ĆENAN
; Studentica Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
LEA PERETIĆ
; Dom zdravlja dr. Ante Franulović, Vela Luka, Hrvatska
VJERA LOVREK
; Specijalistička ordinacija obiteljske medicine Vjekoslava Amerl Šakić, dr. med., spec. obit. med., Zagreb, Hrvatska
INES BALINT
; Specijalistička ordinacija obiteljske medicine Ines Balint, dr. med., spec. obit. med., Strmec Samoborski, Hrvatska
DIANA KRALJ
; Specijalistička ordinacija obiteljske medicine Diana Kralj, dr. med., spec. obit. med., Karlovac, Hrvatska
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
Introduction: Overweight and obesity pose a growing public health challenge globally, with far-reaching health and economic
consequences. This study aims to examine the prevalence of overweight and obese patients in patients of family physicians’
(FP) offices and the frequency of FPs recording the diagnosis of obesity by its E66 code. The purpose is to highlight the issue
of neglecting obesity as a disease within the healthcare system of the Republic of Croatia.
Methods: The research involved 54 family medicine practices in Croatia, providing data on the total number of contracted patients aged 18 and above, the gender distribution among these patients, measured waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) categorized by gender, and, finally, the number of recorded diagnoses of obesity in the medical records.
Results: The study included 81562 patients. In 51.93 % and 46.79 % of them, respectively, data on BMI and weight circumference were recorded. Out of the patients with available data, 78.04 % of men and 62.41 % of women were overweight or obese, while 66.27 % of men and 72.72 % of women had visceral obesity. Only 12 % of obese men and 18 % of obese women had an obesity diagnosis in their medical records.
Conclusion: Although a high prevalence of obesity was recorded among FP patients, the frequency of the recorded disease
diagnosis E66 was low. This reflects the low level of awareness among primary healthcare physicians regarding the recognition
of obesity as a disease. In conclusion, the study underscores the urgency for healthcare professionals to take a leading role in recognizing, preventing, and treating obesity. It calls for increased awareness of the problem not only among healthcare practitioners but also within the broader community.
Ključne riječi
body mass index; waist circumference; overweight; obesity; prevention; family physician
Hrčak ID:
331222
URI
Datum izdavanja:
16.5.2025.
Posjeta: 280 *