ABSTRACT
Behavioral weight management addresses the “trait-environment mismatches” to bring about lifestyle changes aimed at decreasing energy intake through calorie reduction and increasing energy expenditure through enhancing physical activity. The traditional goal of the treatment of obesity was reduction to ideal body weight. Although behavioral weight management has not yet been shown to reduce the increased morality associated with obesity, it has been shown to reduce by half the incidence of type 2 diabetes in persons at high risk. Behavioral weight management ideally has three goals: decrease in calorie intake, increase in physical activity, and learning of cognitive behavioral strategies to reinforce positive changes in dietary habits and physical activity. Although relatively few studies have evaluated behavioral weight treatments in obese patients with mental disorders, available controlled clinical trial data suggest such treatments are generally safe and may be effective in obese patients with psychotic and eating disorders.
