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Obesity is a chronic disease and a significant public health threat predicated on complex genetic, psychological, and environmental factors. Individuals with higher body mass index are more likely to avoid health care due to weight stigma. Disparities in obesity care disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. In addition to this unequal disease burden, access to obesity treatment varies significantly. Even if treatment options are theoretically productive, they may be more difficult for low-income families, and racial and ethnic minorities to implement in practice secondary to socioeconomic factors. Lastly, the outcomes of undertreatment are significant. Disparities in obesity foreshadow integral inequality in health outcomes, including disability, and premature mortality., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the distribution of adult and pediatric American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) diplomates relative to the prevalence of obesity by US state., Methods: Data from the ABOM physician directory were used to determine original specialty and US state. Physicians were labeled as "adult medicine" physicians (i.e., internal medicine, family medicine, or internal medicine and pediatrics), "pediatric medicine" physicians (i.e., pediatrics, family medicine, or internal medicine and pediatrics), and "other physicians" (i.e., surgical specialty, other specialty, or unknown). Prevalence of obesity by state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was used for adults and adolescents in 2017 and for children in 2014. Counts of ABOM-certified adult medicine physicians and pediatric medicine physicians were conducted relative to obesity prevalence by state., Results: A total of 2,577 US-based ABOM-certified physicians were included (79% from adult medicine, 38% from pediatric medicine, and 15% from other fields). All US states had more than one ABOM-certified adult medicine physician, although geographic disparities existed in physician availability relative to obesity prevalence. Fewer pediatric medicine ABOM diplomates were available in all states., Conclusions: Promotion of ABOM training and certification in certain geographic locations and among pediatric physicians may help address disparities in ABOM diplomate availability relative to obesity burden., (© 2019 The Obesity Society.)

Objective: To explore whether social support helps patients with limited health literacy adhere to their medication regimens., Methods: We interviewed 275 pharmacy patients and assessed social support's influence on medication adherence for those with limited vs. adequate health literacy. We talked with patients (n=26) and pharmacists (n=7) to explore possible explanations for the quantitative findings., Results: Social support was associated with better medication adherence for patients with adequate health literacy but not those with limited health literacy (p<0.05). When individual subscales for social support were analyzed, having a trusted confidant was the only type of social support associated with better medication adherence for limited-literacy patients (p<0.05). Comments from patients and pharmacists suggest that limited-literacy patients were less likely to ask the pharmacists questions and infrequently brought relatives with them to the pharmacy., Conclusion: Unless they have a trusted confidant, limited-literacy patients might be reluctant to ask others for the kind of help needed to take their medicines correctly., Practice Implications: Pharmacists need training to increase their awareness of limited health literacy and to communicate effectively with all patients, regardless of their literacy skills. To succeed, pharmacists also need the support of the health care systems where they work., (Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)