Methods for voluntary weight loss and control: Update 1996

The prevalence of obesity increased nearly eight percent over the last decade. In response to the obesity epidemic in the United States, The National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference Panel published “Methods for voluntary weight loss and control” in 1993. Unfortunately, in 1996, the evidence suggests that the prevalence of obesity is still steadily increasing. Current trends predict that most Americans will struggle with weight problems and obesity in the future. There have been no major advances in the treatment of obesity. Interventions produce short-term losses followed by weight regain, and no current treatments appear capable of producing permanent weight loss. Newer treatment approaches assume that obesity is a chronic disorder that requires a continuous care model of treatment. Social and environmental influences on eating and physical activity, along with perceptions of inability to self-control, continually mitigate against maintenance of prudent weight management behaviors. Since the etiology of obesity is multifactorial and can be viewed as an interaction between biology and environmental factors, environmental changes and biological interventions aimed at correcting genetic and metabolic irregularities will be central to any efforts to stem the tide of obesity.