The roles of nurses in preventing and managing excess weight among adults: A systematic scoping review
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Updated: May 28, 2025

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Adika Sen1, Ka Ying Annie Ho2, Wei Kian Frederick Goh3
1National University Heart Centre, National University Hospital, Singapore.
Background:
Nurses are well-positioned to tackle obesity but literature on their roles remains unclear.
Purpose:
To present an overview of nurses' roles in preventing and managing excess weight among adults.
Methods:
Following the Arksey and O'Malley methodology, 11 databases were searched from inception to September 2023. Eligibility screening showed good inter-rater reliability (κ=0.84). Articles were appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool and relevant data were charted.
Discussion:
In total, 86 studies were included with 41.9% published in America and 3.5% and 26.7% of the studies addressing overweight and obesity management, respectively. Nurses acted as health advocates (100%), offered psychological support (54.7%), fostered collaboration and networks (48.8%), and facilitated interventions (9.3%) addressing intrapersonal, organizational, and community-level factors of the socioecological model.
Conclusion:
Further investigations into nurses' roles in the exclusive management of overweight and obesity are warranted. Focus on their contributions at the interpersonal and policy levels is also necessary.
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