Weight control trial

Re: Determining optimal approaches for weight maintenance: a randomized controlled trial, published May 12

The subjects chosen for this study were female volunteers with Class I obesity (average BMI 31 kg/m2) with reported pretrial weight loss of 9 per cent of their body weight. These patients rarely require referral to obesity management programs and may comprise a minority of patients managed in the primary care setting. The remarkable finding from this study is that not only did patients sustain their initial weight loss, but they continued to lose weight over the 2 years of follow-up. Were average caloric intakes assessed in these patients? We suspect that this trial represents the unique accomplishment of a highly successful, motivational team with a highly selected and motivated group of patients. The authors are to be congratulated on their findings, however we are not convinced that their findings will be easily reproduced or will be applicable to the general population of overweight and morbidly obese Canadians.