This scoping review assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of general practitioners (GPs) regarding dietary advice for weight management. A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and MEDLINE was conducted for any qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies published in the past five years that informed GPs’ dietary advice for weight control. Thirteen studies were included in the analysis after screening 881 papers. These studies tended to focus mostly on GPs’ practices rather than their knowledge and attitudes. The most frequently mentioned dietary advice was to reduce calorie intake; however, 32 different types of dietary advice were identified in the literature, including approaches such as intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet that are not recommended in current guidelines. GPs showed varying levels of knowledge and attitudes regarding the best dietary advice for patients. Further research is needed to better understand GP perspectives, with efforts to assist GPs in providing tailored advice based on the latest evidence to improve patient outcomes required.
Background
Global plastic production has increased exponentially since the 1960s, with more than 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste generated to date. Studies have found a range of human health outcomes associated with exposure to plastic chemicals. However, only a fraction of plastic chemicals used have been studied in vivo, and then often in animals, for acute toxicological effects. With many questions still unanswered about how long-term exposure to plastic impacts human health, there is an urgent need to map human in vivo research conducted to date, casting a broad net by searching terms for a comprehensive suite of plastic chemical exposures and the widest range of health domains.
Methods
This protocol describes a scoping review that will follow the recommended framework outlined in the 2017 Guidance for the Conduct of Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Scoping Reviews, to be reported in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist. A literature search of primary clinical studies in English from 1960 onwards will be conducted in MEDLINE (Ovid) and EMBASE (Ovid) databases. References eligible for inclusion will be identified through a quality-controlled, multi-level screening process. Extracted data will be presented in diagrammatic and tabular form, with a narrative summary addressing the review questions.
Discussion
This scoping review will comprehensively map the primary research undertaken to date on plastic exposure and human health. Secondary outputs will include extensive databases on plastic chemicals and human health outcomes/impacts.
Systematic review registration
Open Science Framework (OSF)-Standard Pre-Data Collection Registration, https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-gbxps-v1, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GBXPS
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