Guiding and Enabling Behaviour Change course for GPs

This session aims to equip you with the knowledge and understanding of how to take a guiding and collaborative approach with patients to help support lifestyle behaviour change. It illustrates a five-step approach that will enable you to achieve this, and highlights where you may need to refer to other support services.

This session was reviewed by Jamie Blackshaw (Project Lead), Penny Blair, Lisa Thompson and Elaine Boylan and updated in January 2017.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Explain some of the key principles that enable behaviour change
• Raise the issue of weight sensitively with individuals
• Have a non-judgemental discussion with an individual which builds their readiness to change behaviours linked to their weight status
• Describe the ‘weight management initial steps’, and how it supports behaviour change and local service provision

Over the last 50 years there has been a gradual and sustained increase in overweight and obesity levels. The proportion who were categorised as obese (BMI 30kg/m2 or over) increased from 13.2% of men in 1993 to 24.3% in 2014 and from 16.4% of women in 1993 to 26.8% in 2014