This study's objective was to define the current attitudes and practices of military family physicians regarding obesity. The authors mailed a cross-sectional survey to 267 military family physicians selected randomly from the 1997 Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians membership database. A total of 214 surveys (80%) were returned. Most respondents believed that they should be role models to patients (93%) and felt obligated to counsel patients regarding obesity (90%). Fifty-six percent did not consider counseling obese patients professionally satisfying. Most correctly identified obesity as a risk factor for several diseases, except colon cancer (35%). Fifty-four percent correctly identified the current World Health Organization definition of obesity. A notable minority ascribed negative attributes of sadness (18%) and lack of self-control (25%) to obese individuals. The results of this survey indicate knowledge gaps and professional ambivalence regarding obesity in the study group. Methods of increasing family physician effectiveness in modifying this important risk factor deserve further study.