Long-term effects of a lifestyle-change obesity treatment program with minorities.

Abstract

OBESITY AND A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE PLACES AMERICANS IN GENERAL, AND MINORITIES IN PARTICULAR, AT RISK FOR A NUMBER OF CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEMS: cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, to name a few. It is therefore concluded that walking or other energy-expending activities and a sensible diet are not only an efficient weight-loss approach, but the most effective long-term weight maintenance approach available to date. Moreover, the potential for enhanced psychological well-being, increased health benefits, and reduced risk factors is also far greater with diet and exercise than with diet alone.Practitioners concerned with improving the overall health status of obese minorities would be well advised to remember that dieting is a depriving experience, while walking and other aerobic activities can be an exhilarating experience that gives the obese individual another degree of freedom.