ABSTRACT
SUMMARY. The toll obesity takes on the health of the American population is enormous. For obese children and adults the costs include impaired health and psychosocial functioning as well as staggering health care costs. It is no wonder that a plethora of treatment options have emerged in recent years. Despite the growth of the weight loss industry, no obesity treatment can claim long term efficacy for most individuals. The addictions model of obesity may offer an explanation for the disappointing outcomes of most current approaches to weight loss. According to this model, obesity is the result of a dependence on certain food substances, which obese individuals are powerless to control. Effective management of obesity, according to the addictions model, therefore includes an admission that one is powerless over food and complete abstinence 104 from offending food substances. In this paper we review the current literature on obesity etiology and the components of effective weight loss treatments and compare this literature to the major premises of the addictions model. We conclude that while the addictions model may appropriately characterize obese individuals who binge eat along some dimensions, it is inconsistent with much of what is known about the development and treatment of obesity. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com < Website: https://www.haworthpressinc.com" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://www.haworthpressinc.com>]
