WEIGHT-LOSS AS AN END-POINT - MEASURING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TREATMENT IN OBESITY

A recent study measuring body height and weight in a random sample of several thousand men and women in the United States found the prevalen ce of overweight, 28% in the 1970s, had risen to 33% [1]. Not only are more Americans overweight but also the average weight has increased a n astonishing 8 lb in the last 10 years, This average gain in weight t ranslates to a 1-2 unit increase in body mass index (BMI; kg/m(2)). BM I, in turn, is a simple criterion established by National Institutes o f Health Consensus Conference to guide physicians regarding the relati ve importance of intervention [2] (Table 1). Whereas the medical compl ications of obesity-glucose intolerance, hypertension, dyslipidemia, c oronary artery disease, gallstones, arthritis, etc.-are well establish ed [3], an effective treatment program for obesity-weight loss-is not web established [4]. This article reviews how effective commonly used treatments of obesity are at producing weight loss.