Search Here

Based on the 2013 guidelines for primary care providers on weight management, weight loss treatment was advised to 140 million adults in the United States. 

Researchers used date from the 2007 to 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination survey to estimate the proportion of U.S. adults for who weight loss treatment was recommended. 

Researchers found that according to guidelines, 140 million American adults were recommended for behavioral weight -loss treatment, the press release added. 

Adjunctive pharmacotherapy could be considered for up to 116 million of these individuals, and bariatric surgery could be considered for 32.0 million of those recommended for both behavioral treatment and pharmacotherapy, the press release said. 

"These guidelines address critical questions in obesity treatment, and provide evidence-based recommendations on topics such as: Who needs to lose weight? How much weight loss is needed to improve health? And what are the best and most appropriate methods for losing weight?"June Stevens, Ph.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil, said in the press release. 

"Our team was eager to apply these recommendations to the population of the United States, and unfortunately, we were not surprised to see that a massive number of Americans are recommended for weight-loss treatment."

The findings were presented at ObesityWeek 2014.