Introduction

The intent of this special series is to provide clinicians and researchers alike with an overview of current treatment developments in two areas of enormous public health concern: obesity and eating disorders. In an effort to move the field forward in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of obesity and eating disorders, the authors assembled six articles presenting current perspectives on the state of the science in critical topic areas. Topics that will be discussed include: women who would like to quit smoking but have concerns about weight gain; the bariatric surgery patient; food refusal in young children, a family-based CBT approach to the treatment of severe pediatric obesity and the application of established approaches for addictions (i.e., motivational interviewing) and borderline personality disorder (i.e., dialectic behavior therapy) to the treatment of obesity and eating disorders. Each article provides an overview and some practical information for the reader to keep in mind when approaching these populations.