Knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about obesity and overweight in a sample of dietitians-nutritionists in Spain

Introduction: overweight and obesity make up one of the greatest public health challenges worldwide. Dietitians-nutritionists promote the acquisition of healthy habits to adjust weight. There are interesting contributions by psychology to be considered. Objectives: a) to study the link between the variables included in the study and the therapeutic intervention of dietitians in overweight and obesity; b) to collect the opinions of dietitians on the psychological aspects involved; c) to analyze the predictors of therapeutic success. Methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study that, through a survey to dietitians-nutritionists in Spain (n = 266), analyzes demographic, training, and occupational data, as well as knowledge, beliefs, and interventions on obesity and overweight, with emphasis on psychological aspects. Chi-squared analyses were performed for qualitative variables, and a regression analysis was performed to estimate the perception of therapeutic success. Results: specialization in overweight and obesity was linked to nutrition education interventions. The consideration of psychological aspects was associated with addressing emotional and social problems. Nutritional education, number of sessions, and average time per session predicted the perception of therapeutic success, all of these explaining 46.5 % of the variance. Conclusions: the findings documented a highly specific training in obesity, and a limited use of clinical practice guidelines; the cause of obesity is mostly attributable to environmental factors, and teamwork is preferred by most. Psychological factors were considered very necessary in the approach to this problem, with nutritional education being most efficient. The professionals' self-perception of therapeutic success is remarkable.