Long-term intervention strategies in obesity treatment

Obesity is a chronic condition, requiring long-term treatment. In addition to various combinations of diet, exercise and behavioural modifications, weight-reducing drugs will be useful in different situations. Weight loss expectations must be realistic. Drugs which control appetite, nutritional partitioning and thermogenesis may have various roles in different stages of the long-term treatment strategies. Combinations and intermittent regimens will probably result in optimal retained weight loss for the individual, but will be difficult to evaluate systematically.