Effective treatment for obesity is challenging, obesity is a very common health problem in the United States , and fighting obesity can be a life long issue. Obesity is associated with an increased mortality rate and risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus. There are many treatments available for obesity:

Behavioral therapy, surgery and pharmacologic treatment have been used and some have been quite successful. Older anorectic agents have significant side effects and limited benefit, and some have even been withdrawn from the U.S. market because of a possible association with heart and lung complications. The safety of newer agents is extensively evaluated and tested before widespread use is allowed. Behavioral therapy, meaning regular exercise and eating healthy, continues to be the best treatment for long-term weight loss. (Am Fam Physician 2000;61:2131-8,2143.)

Obesity is one of the most common and serious health problems in the United States . Excess weight is independently associated with an increased mortality rate in multiple conditions. Approximately one fourth of American adults (more than 60 million people) are overweight. Given this statistic, the Western cultural obsession with being thin and the societal and psychologic stigma of obesity, it is not surprising that, at any time, 50 percent of American women and 25 percent of American men are trying to lose weight, with an annual expenditure of $30 billion on weight loss treatments.