Clinical materials

The materials linked and listed below are useful in some circumstances while helping obese individuals with weight loss programmes in a healthcare setting. They should be used appropriately by trained individuals.

Motivation assessment:

Brownell, Hager and Leermaker's Weight Loss Readiness Test II is available online as a self-assessment tool on the Lifestyle Company's website (one of the authors is listed as CEO of the company). There are 27 questions in 6 categories, and a scoring system is provided for each. A pdf of the test can be found on the website of another commercial weight loss site HERE.

Another version, labelled the Diet Readiness Test, contains 23 questions in 6 sections. It is available online in the book "Weighing the Options: Criteria for Evaluating Weight-Management Programs" (1995) Thomas PR (ed) for the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

A simple 4-question test based on the readiness-to-change model is described on the National Obesity Forum site.

Physical activity assessment

The level of exertion felt by an individual will vary considerably from person to person - a fit athlete will find a given physical task much less strenuous than an obese individual. The Borg scale helps assess this perceived level. The complete scale is available online.

Setting up an obesity clinic Part 1

This is the first part of an online presentation illustrating some of the physical infrastructure that should be borne in mind while establishing a clinic specifically meant to help obese individuals.