RCGP advises caution over proposed wider roll-out of BMI checks

RCGP responds to a new NICE draft standard on annual BMI checks for patients with chronic conditions, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said:

“Obesity is a real concern for all medical professionals given its proven link with serious conditions, including diabetes, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, cancer and many others - and it's important people understand this link. Preventive medicine is a clinical priority for the College, and we are always looking at how we can appropriately build evidence-based interventions into the work we do in general practice for the benefit of patients’ long-term health – prevention is better than cure.

“GPs, and other members of our teams, are trained to have sensitive but frank conversations around weight and nutrition with our patients. There is no one-size fits all approach to weight management and GPs hear first-hand how hard it can be for some of our patients to maintain a healthy weight. Supporting our patients to understand the benefits that come with being a healthier weight and ways to achieve this is something GPs and our teams already do on a daily basis.

"Measuring BMI can be a useful tool and help people to understand their weight - and GPs will already measure BMI annually for patients with chronic conditions as part of QOF requirements, but we need to ensure wider roll out of this is evidence based, and properly resourced as part of wider efforts to support patients to maintain a healthy weight. Measuring BMI also won’t be appropriate for everyone and will need to sit alongside other support such as focused health education, counselling, and advice around specific lifestyle factors including diet, nutrition and exercise. We also need to consider the potential for overdiagnosis.

“Furthermore, we must be mindful of the impact on workload in general practice, which is already severely overstretched. We will be considering this draft standard carefully before we respond to the consultation and look forward to working with NICE to find the best answer for our patients.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.