[Modification of pathogenic dietary behavior. Group technics].

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is high in our societies and it increases at a regular rate. This phenomenon ("the overweight society") reaches a sociological level. Individual solutions to weight problems are time-consuming; moreover their efficience--as demonstrated by statistical studies, is rather poor. In contrast, group approach to weight problems offer theoretical advantages. Group therapy of obesity is based upon one of the following methods: classical nutritional approach, psychoanalytical group therapy, behavioral groups, free associations of obese people. Unfortunately comparison of these different methods, in regard to sucess and failures, as well as comparison to individual therapy is somewhat difficult from a methodological and theoretical point of view. However, global results of group therapy fail to prove some decisive advantages upon individual therapy. Exception to these discouraging results concerns those groups which were carefully selected so that they were strongly homogeneous in respect to several parameters selection of these parameters offers a promising way to new researchs. Obesity should not be looked upon like a disease or an homogeneous entity, but rather like a sympton. Some new theoretical concepts could be applied to group therapy of obesity and facilitate the scientific approach of this problem.