CSBJ Daily

The best weight loss programs apparently combine personal counseling and Web-based journaling.

Results of a study printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association repots that the two factors are identified as the key to successful, long-term weight management.

The study, presented at the American Heart Association’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism Council Meeting in Colorado Springs, found that brief personal counseling and Web-based intervention strategies offer the best hope in keeping weight off over three years.

Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., was the coordinating center for the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial of 1,032 overweight and obese adults and provided five of the study co-authors.

An estimated two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese.