Which Physicians Are the Most Overweight? In the latest US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on obesity, about 35% of the US population is obese, which is a body mass index (BMI) of ≥ 30.[1]Although far fewer physicians of the total number who responded to the Medscape survey are obese (8%), being overweight is still a problem for 34% of them. General surgeons report being the most overweight physicians, with 49% confessing to being overweight to obese (BMI > 25). Family physicians follow closely at 48%. Dermatologists are the least heavy, with less than a quarter of them (23%) reporting a BMI > 25, followed by 29% of ophthalmologists. According to investigators of a recent study using data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, looking at BMI alone may miss many people at risk for cardiovascular disease. In the study, about a third of men and almost half of women classified as nonobese had a high percentage of body fat. Some experts suggest using a BMI > 27-28 to indicate obesity, which correlates better with body-fat percentage vs the cut point of 30. Are Male or Female Physicians More Overweight? According to the 2013 report on obesity from the CDC,[1] the overall current prevalence rate of obesity (35%) does not differ between men and women. This gender neutrality regarding weight was supported in a 2013 Gallup poll, which found that about 58% of both men and women felt that they were over their ideal weight.[3] In the Medscape survey, obesity was also gender neutral, but in this population, only 8% of both male and female physicians reported a BMI of ≥ 30. Nevertheless, maintaining a healthy weight is still a problem among doctors who responded to the survey, and unlike the general population, more men than women report being overweight (39% and 26%, respectively). Source