Obese patients given "weight-loss support remotely--through the telephone, a study-specific Web site, and e-mail" lost an average of 10.1 lbs during a two-year study versus an average weight loss of 11.2 lbs for those provided in-person support during group sessions and individual sessions, along with the three remote means of support (telephone, a study-specific Web site, and e-mail support) according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

A third group of obese people whose weight loss was self-directed lost an average of only 1.8 lbs.

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A program of diet-plus-group therapy causes considerably more weight loss and considerably less patient withdrawals compared to a diet plus regular visits to the doctor's office according to study out of Italy. Read the entire article | Email this article

Overweight children, 7- to 9-years-old, who were assigned to family-based group therapy that stressed a "health-promoting lifestyle" lost considerably more weight than those who were counseled individually -- 6.8 percent in six months versus 1.8 percent -- according to a study from Finland. Read the entire article | Email this article

The research suggests that some things help patients maintain weight loss, things such as continued treatment, while other things, such as peer group meetings or phone calls, do not work according to a new reveiw paper. Read the entire article | Email this article