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Excerpt

In 1995, the NationalObesity EducationInitiative of the National Heart, Lung, andBlood Institute (NHLBI), in cooperation withthe National Institute ofDiabetes and Digestiveand Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), convened thefirst Expert Panel on the Identification,Evaluation, and Treatment ofOverweight andObesity in Adults to develop clinical practiceguidelines for primary care practitioners.

The impetus for these guidelines was the recognitionthat the prevalence of overweight andobesity in the United States is increasing, andthat practitioners need to be alerted to theaccompanying health risks. According to the lateststatistics from the third National Health andNutrition Examination Survey, 97 millionAmericans are overweight or obese. Excessweight is often accompanied by high blood pressure,high blood cholesterol, type 2 diabetes,coronary heart disease, and other health problems.The total costs attributable to obesity-relateddisease approach $100 billion annually in theUnited States.

Contents

• Contributors
• Foreword
• Executive Summary
• Summary of Evidence-Based Recommendations
• Chapter 1. Introduction
  • A Rationale for Guidelines Development
  • B Objectives of the Guidelines
  • C Guideline Development Methodology
  • D Statement of Assumptions
  • E Intended Users of These Guidelines
• Chapter 2. Overweight and Obesity: Background
  • A Health and Economic Costs
  • B Prevention of Overweight and Obesity
  • C Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity
  • D Weight Loss and Mortality
  • E Environment
  • F Genetic Influence in the Development of Overweight and Obesity
• Chapter 3. Examination of Randomized Controlled Trial Evidence
  • A Why treat overweight and obesity?
  • B What Treatments are Effective?
• Chapter 4. Treatment Guidelines
  • A Overview
  • B Assessment and Classification of Overweight and Obesity
  • C Assessment of Risk Status
  • D Evaluation and Treatment Strategy
  • E Exclusion from Weight Loss Therapy
  • F Patient Motivation
  • G Goals of Weight Loss and Management
  • H Strategies for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance
  • I Smoking Cessation in the Overweight or Obese Patient
  • J Role of Health Professionals in Weight Loss Therapy
• Chapter 5. Summary of Recommendations
  • A Advantages of Weight Loss
  • B Measurement of Degree of Overweight and Obesity
  • C Goals for Weight Loss
  • D How To Achieve Weight Loss
  • E Goals for Weight Loss Maintenance
  • F How To Maintain Weight Loss
  • G Special Treatment Groups
• Chapter 6. Future Research
  • A Intervention Approaches
  • B Causes and Mechanisms of Overweight and Obesity
  • C Abdominal Fat, Body Weight and Disease Risk
  • D Assessment Methods
• Appendices
  • I.A.1. Guidelines Development Methodology
  • I.A.2 Literature Review
  • II. Description of Evidence
  • III. Special Populations
  • IV. Obesity and Sleep Apnea
  • V. Body Mass Index—How to Measure Obesity
  • VI. Practical Dietary Therapy Information
  • VII. Resource List
  • VIII. Glossary of Terms
• List of Abbreviations
• Reference List
• Publication List

Published in cooperation with The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

The funding source for the guidelines was primarily the NHLBI, with the cooperation of the NIDDK of the National Institutes of Health.