Attitudes towards therapeutic options for weight management, including weight loss medications and surgery, among people living with obesity and healthcare professionals in China: A secondary analysis from the ACTION‐China study

Abstract Aims To identify attitudes towards prescription of weight loss (WL) medications and WL surgery among people living with obesity (PLwO) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in China. Materials and Methods This was a secondary analysis of the ACTION‐China study ( ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT05428501), a cross‐sectional, descriptive, survey‐based study conducted in mainland China from August to November 2022. Results In total, 7000 PLwO and 1000 HCPs completed the survey. Most were concerned about the safety of long‐term use of WL medications (73.6% of PLwO and 69.2% of HCPs) and WL surgery (76.7% of PLwO and 76.9% of HCPs). A smaller proportion of PLwO than HCPs (37.4% vs. 60.9%, respectively) thought that WL medications were more effective than other treatments. Similar proportions of PLwO and HCPs (33.4% and 32.4%, respectively) considered surgery to be more effective than other options, but more PLwO than HCPs were concerned about weight regain after WL surgery (64.1% vs. 35.2%, respectively). In total, 39.5% of PLwO thought that society and the healthcare system were slightly (31.8%) or completely (7.7%) meeting their needs, compared with 23.5% (21.1% and 2.4%, respectively) of HCPs. PLwO and HCPs agreed that the most important factor for improving WL outcomes was increasing awareness that obesity is a chronic disease that requires long‐term management. Conclusion PLwO and HCPs living in mainland China have different attitudes towards WL treatments, particularly regarding treatment effectiveness and weight regain after WL surgery.