[The Internet as a tool to treat an overweight population]

Obesity is the most common expression of malnutrition and its prevalence has been increasing fast in Brazil. The Internet -- though still underused -- can be an useful tool in treating obesity through behavioral techniques. The purpose of the present paper was to assess the use of the Internet for obesity treatment in a sample of adults of Lagoa dos Três Cantos, RS, where 58.6% of the population reported a BMI over 25 kg/m(2). All overweight individuals (n= 532) were submitted to a weight loss program via the Internet, on a low-calorie diet and the support of behavioral techniques. Mean body weight loss was reported at 2, 5, 8 and 13 months, as compared to baseline: 354 individuals (66.6%) lost over 5%, and 106 of them (20%) lost over 10% of their initial weight. Results show that the Internet can be useful in the fight against overweight and obesity.