Report of a National Institutes of Health-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workshop on the feasibility of conducting a randomized clinical trial to estimate the long-term health effects of intentional weight loss in obese persons

A workshop was convened in 1997 by the National institutes of Health and th e Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to consider the need for and f easibility of conducting a randomized clinical trial to estimate the long-t enn health effects of intentional weight loss in obese persons. Although th e benefits of weight loss in obese individuals may seem obvious, little inf ormation is available showing that intentional weight loss improves long-te rm health outcomes. Observational studies may be unable to provide convinci ng answers about the magnitude and direction of the health effects of inten tional weight loss, Workshop participants agreed that a well-designed rando mized clinical trial could answer several questions necessary for developin g a rational clinical and public health policy for treating obesity. Such i nformation will ultimately provide needed guidance on the risks and benefit s of weight loss to health care providers and payers, as well as to million s of obese Americans.