'Enhanced' Counseling May Help Some Obese Patients

Eating fewer Calories than they burn would help more.

About a third of obese patients who received "enhanced counseling"--monthly weight-loss counseling supplemented with meal replacements or a weight-loss drug--had 5% weight loss at two years, researchers report [1].

The Practice-based Opportunities for Weight Reduction Trial at the University of Pennsylvania (POWER-UP) was presented here Monday at the American Heart Association 2011 Scientific Sessions and is published online November 14, 2011 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"The key finding is that primary-care practitioners working with medical assistants can help their obese patients loose a small but clinically meaningful amount of weight," lead author Dr Thomas A Wadden (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) told heartwire . "A modest, 5% weight loss can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and improve other cardiovascular risk factors such as high triglyceride and LDL-cholesterol levels," he noted.

But as long as these fatsos pay for it themselves, go for it.