Toowoomba/Stanthorpe doctor Bo Bi’s research into obesity in the Darling Downs

A Darling Downs doctor is uncovering shocking truths about obesity treatment in the region, aiming to change the stigma surrounding obesity and develop proper treatments for the illness.

General practitioner and researcher Doctor Bo Bi wants to see a day where obesity is treated in the same way most a chronic conditions are – with a structured care plan, consistent work, and concrete results at the end of their treatment.

Unfortunately, those options are not available on the Darling Downs, where obesity is already a serious issue, but Dr Bi’s latest project hopes to change that.

Dr Bi has earned a place in the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Academic Post Program for 2022, where over the next 12 months she will aim to uncover GPs attitudes to structured obesity care.

Dr Bo Bi. Picture: Nev Madsen.

She also aims to discover what barriers stand in the way of GPs creating a structured care plan for people suffering from obesity.

Her research is the first of its kind on the Darling Downs where, according to Darling Downs Health’s 2019 annual report, the rate of adult obesity was 20 per cent higher than the Queensland average.

“Obesity is a place where we can do a lot of good,” Dr Bi said.

“We are spending more time treating consequences more than preventive side of things.”

Startling research has revealed that three quarters of Australians will be obese by 2030 – and yet there is no structured preventive measures.

Having worked in the hospital system in the region, Dr Bi has seen first-hand the “haphazard” treatment of obesity.

Liaising with GPs, as well as wider hospital staff like surgeons, Dr Bi will aim to discover the attitudes of local GPs when it comes to obesity treatment.

“I’ll be using it as a scoping study to find out how rural GPs are managing obesity to get a feel for what GPs feel is lacking, and what resources we can provide as a college to treat this problem,” she said.

Research like this is unprecedented for the region, and unfortunately chronically underfunded.

Less than one per cent of the Medical Research Future Fund’s 10-year Investment Plan has been allocated to primary care research.

Dr Bi said it’s possible that the stigma surrounding obesity is just one reason why it’s been unexplored for the region, and across the country.

Dr Bo Bi is undertaking research on obesity. Friday, January 14, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

But the GPs have such a crucial role in the community, it simply makes sense for them to be involved in treating obesity as a chronic illness, according to Dr Bi.

“We have so many opportunities to provide continuity of care which really is what obesity needs,” she said.

“We are optimally placed to deliver a structured program.

“There’s a lot of trust developed to make this a safe space to explore this issue.

“It’s particularly difficult to illicit behaviour change.

“I feel like a lot of people have the knowledge but really how do we change our behaviours to implement those healthy habits.”

In 12 months time, Dr Bi said she hopes to discover GPs attitudes to obesity treatments, and discern the barriers that stand in the way of implementing a structured treatment program.

“I’d love for that to become the norm and we stop stigmatising it,” she said.

“The stigma is that this is a self-caused condition, whereas we don’t think about that with other illnesses.”