ABSTRACT
If behavioral principles are effective in the treatment and maintenance of weight loss, as some researchers suggest, then why is obesity not decreasing in prevalence in our society? In 1960–1962, the percentage of overweight persons 25–74 years of age was 27.4; in 1976–1980, the percentage had risen to 28.4 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1986). Either obese individuals are not familiar with or are not using the principles to help control their weight, or the principles themselves are not very effective in the control of obesity. This chapter will explore the role of behavioral principles in the treatment of obesity and attempt to explain why they have had only limited effectiveness with weight problems and why their introduction at the work site has been a failure to date.
