Psychological and dietetic counselling combined in the treatment of obesity: a comparative study in a hospital outpatient clinic.

This study examined the effectiveness of combining behaviour modification with dietetic counselling in a hospital outpatient clinic. Thirty-six females with an obesity index over 25 were placed in one of three 16-week treatment conditions: (1) individual dietetic counselling, (2) group dietetic counselling, (3) group dietetic counselling with behaviour modification. Median end of treatment weight losses were 8.3, 4.6 and 6.9 kg respectively. At one year follow-up patients in Gp 2 tended to have regained their weight while patients in Gps 1 and 3 were equally successful in maintaining weight loss. However, trends towards lower rates of attrition, slower rates of decay of treatment effects and a more economical use of professional time favoured the dietetic behavioural group condition as a treatment choice. In view of the successful use of behavioural techniques by a variety of professions their wider employment by dietitians is advocated.