Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: Behavioral Intervention for Long-Term Weight Loss and Maintenance

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization has identified obesity as a global epidemic. While weight loss is a considerable challenge, long-term maintenance of weight loss is an even greater problem. AIMS: This review of the assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults covers factors contributing to overweight and obesity, components of weight-loss management, and interventions and effects of behavioral treatment for long-term weight loss and maintenance. METHODS: A thorough search of the medical and nursing literature recorded in the MEDLINE database from 1995 to 2003 was conducted by using the keywords "overweight", "obesity", and "behavioral therapy". RESULTS: Obesity is a complex, multifaceted condition in which excessive body fat places a person at risk of multiple health problems. Excessive body fat results from energy intake that exceeds energy expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: Increasing evidence suggests that obesity is not simply a problem of will power or self-control but a complex disorder involving appetite regulation and energy metabolism that is associated with a variety of comorbid conditions. Effective strategies of weight loss require management strategies in a combined approach of dietary therapy and physical activity by using behavioral interventions.