Lifestyle Modification in the Treatment of Obesity: An Educational Challenge and Opportunity

As many as two‐thirds of adults in developed nations are overweight (body mass index (BMI)=25.0–29.9 kg/m2) or obese (BMI ⩾30 kg/m2),1 and many of these individuals suffer from weight‐related comorbidities such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type II diabetes.2 On a more positive note, recent s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics 2007-05, Vol.81 (5), p.776-779
Main Authors: Jones, L R, Wilson, C I, Wadden, T A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Body Mass Index
Cues
Diet, Reducing
Exercise
Health Education
Humans
Hunger
Life Style
Medical sciences
Metabolic diseases
Obesity
Obesity - diet therapy
Obesity - psychology
Obesity - therapy
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As many as two‐thirds of adults in developed nations are overweight (body mass index (BMI)=25.0–29.9 kg/m2) or obese (BMI ⩾30 kg/m2),1 and many of these individuals suffer from weight‐related comorbidities such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type II diabetes.2 On a more positive note, recent studies have demonstrated that losses as small as 5–10% of initial weight can improve these health complications.3 For example, the Diabetes Prevention Program demonstrated that a 7% reduction in initial weight, coupled with 150 min/week of physical activity, reduced the risk of developing type II diabetes by 58% compared with placebo.4 Behavioral treatment consistently induces weight losses in this range. This paper describes the behavioral treatment of obesity, including its short‐ and long‐term results as well as approaches for improving the maintenance of lost weight. The terms “behavioral treatment,” “lifestyle modification,” and “behavioral weight control” are often used interchangeably, as they are in this paper.5 Lifestyle modification includes three principal components: diet, physical activity, and behavior therapy. The latter term, as applied to weight control, refers to a set of principles and techniques to help patients adopt new diet and exercise habits that can be sustained long term to promote health. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2007) 81, 776–779. doi:10.1038/sj.clpt.6100155; published online 14 March 2007
ISSN:0009-9236
1532-6535
DOI:10.1038/sj.clpt.6100155