Obesity treatments are failing

doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7367.0/h

Obesity treatments are failing

New treatments for obesity have failed to control the global increase in the number of overweight people. Hitchcock Noël andPugh (p 757) discuss the barriers that need to be overcome byhealthcare professionals and patients if weight reduction is tobe achieved and maintained. Ultimately, they say, control is likelyto require population based strategies to promote healthy eatingand increase physical activity. These will need to be integratedand multidisciplinary, and they will need to involve complementaryactions that work at a range of levels: individual, community,environment, and policy.

(Credit: SIPA/REX)