Knowledge of obesity in medical residency programs. Realities, reflections and proposals

Obesity is a chronic disease with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Despite its importance for public health, studies indicate that medical specialists lack knowledge and skills for the management of patients with obesity. The aim of this study was to identify the inclusion of obesity topics in specialty/subspecialty residency medical programs endorsed by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and to assess its conformity within the current epidemiological context in Mexico and worldwide. A total of 70 specialty/subspecialty programs were identified, and the curricula of 57 were analyzed, after excluding those that did not involve contact with patients. These were classified into three groups: (1) those that described specific topics/skills on obesity; (2) those that mentioned the word “obesity” without describing specific knowledge/skills, and (3) those that did not include any mention of obesity. Only six (10.5%) programs described knowledge/skills to be developed for obesity treatment, 7 (12.3%) mentioned the term “obesity”, and 44 (77.2%) did not consider obesity within their curricula. The results indicate that medical residents lack adequate training for obesity management. A proposal is made for need to integrate the current knowledge of obesity into a multidisciplinary context in the specialty/subspecialty programs in order to provide specialists with tools and skills for the appropriate treatment of obesity.