Weight Loss: Finding a Weight Loss Program That Works For You

Help for Choosing Weight Loss Products or Services from the Partnership for Healthy Weight Managment

Do you need to lose weight? If so, you're not alone. More than half of American adults are overweight or obese and more than on in three Americans are trying to lose weight.

Perhaps you're planning to try one of the many available weight loss products or services, but aren't sure which one is right for you. It's easy to feel lost in the maze of choices out there — each promising the best results.

Now there's help in sorting through all these options. The Partnership for Healthy Weight Management encourages providers of weight loss programs to follow Voluntary Guidelines for Providers of Weight Loss Products or Services* to give you basic information about their methods.

The first part of this booklet describes the type of information participating programs provide and helps you ask the right questions to choose a safe and effective weight loss method. The second part helps you tell whether your weight puts you at risk for health problems.

*These Guidelines are for commercial weight loss products or services intended for adults. Overweight or obese children and adolescents have special needs, which the Partnership will address by developing special guidelines. The Guidelines are not intended to evaluate weight loss books, articles, Web sites or other publications.

Getting the Answers You Need

Before you begin a weight loss program, see your primary health care provider for advice about your overall health risks and the weight loss options best for you. Health experts agree that the best and safest way for most adults to lose weight and improve their health is to modestly cut calories, eat a balanced diet and be physically active each day. Depending on your health and weight, your primary health care provider may recommend additional methods, such as medication or surgery, which carry greater risks. Consider all your choices seriously.

When you start shopping for a weight loss program, ask providers whether they follow the Voluntary Guidelines for Providers of Weight Loss Products or Services from the Partnership for Healthy Weight Management.

If a program provider doesn’t know about the Guidelines, suggest they contact the Partnership at the Federal Trade Commission’s address on page 5.

Participating programs will answer important questions about how their product or service works, how much it costs, how well it works and any risks involved in following the program.** You’ll find a detailed Checklist for Evaluating Weight Loss Products and Services. Copy this to use as a discussion guide when speaking with representatives from weight loss programs, whether or not they follow the Guidelines.

Questions to Ask

What's involved in following the program?

Ask for details about what foods and how many calories you’ll eat each day, and whether the program includes regular physical activity. A weight loss program that claims you can lose weight and keep it off without changing the foods you eat or increasing your physical activity is selling a fantasy.

A sensible program encourages you to follow advice from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, such as eating at least five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and choosing grains (including whole grains), lean meats and low-fat or fat-free dairy products.

People usually do best when they reduce their usual calorie intake or increase the calories they use by about 500-1000 calories per day. This allows you to eat enough for good nutrition and, if followed daily, helps you lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week. For diets under 1500 calories, be sure to check with your health care provider to make sure you meet all your nutrient needs. Including low-calorie snacks in your meal plan may help prevent you from becoming so hungry that you end up overeating or binging.

What are the staff qualifications

If a program includes assistance from staff members, ask about their training, experience and credentials. Find out what type of attention you’ll receive (for example, individual counseling or group support) and how often.

What's are the risks of using the product or services?

Some methods for losing weight are riskier than others. Diets that require drastic food restriction should be under the supervision of a physician. Get details about side effects or risks that can occur from using the product or service. Check with your primary health care provider before you take prescription or over-the-counter weight loss drugs or other products that are part of the weight loss program. Steer clear of harmful "self help" weight loss tactics, such as smoking, fasting, purging, or abusing laxatives.

What are all the costs of this program?

Ask for an itemized price list that includes membership fees, fee for weekly visits, and costs for items such as diagnostic tests, food meal replacements, dietary supplements, or other products in the program.

How can I improve my chances for keeping the weight off?

The Guidelines require participating programs to give you information about difficulties that many dieters experience with keeping weight off and how you can increase your odds for success.

How successful are other people who follow this program?

Ask whether the program can provide studies that document its success. If so, ask what percentage of all customers have completed the program, how much weight they lost, and how successfully they've kept the weight off over a one-year period or longer. Although the Guidelines do not require providers to disclose detailed program results, providers may give you some of this information. Remember, information based on only some of the people in the program probably reflects those most successful at meeting their weight loss and maintenance goals.

What If a Provider Claims to Follow the Guidelines, But Won't Answer My Questions?

No law requires providers of weight loss products or services to give you the information the Guidelines call for. However, a provider that claims to follow the Guidelines must give you all required information and it must be truthful and accurate.

If a provider claims to follow the Guidelines, but does not give you all required information, of if you suspect the information is not truthful or accurate, call the the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) toll-free help line at 1.877.FTC.HELP, use the FTC's online complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint or contact the Partnership at the address below:

Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20580

Attention: Partnership for Healthy Weight Management

Being Overweight: A Risky Business

People choose to lose weight for many reasons — looking better and feeling more energetic are two popular reasons. Improving or keeping your health is the most important reason.

Being overweight, eating poorly, and being physically inactive all increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Other factors affecting your disease risk include your family and medical history, and lifestyle factors such as whether you smoke or drink too much alcohol.

If you are overweight, losing just five to 10 percent of your weight and keeping it off lowers your risk for developing most of these diseases. For example, an overweight 200-pound person who loses 10 to 20 pounds may reduce risk for disease and improve health problems, such as high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol. Adopting more healthful eating habits and daily physical activity can better your health, even if you don’t lose weight. This section helps you rate whether your weight puts you at risk for health problems.

Rate Your Risk

The number you see on the scale doesn’t necessarily tell you whether you need to lose weight. That’s because two people of the same height and weight can have different bone structures and carry different amounts of muscle and body fat. For most adults, determining your Body Mass Index BMI) and waist size are reliable ways to tell whether you are overweight and to estimate your risk for health problems.

Your BMI uses your height and weight to estimate how much fat is on your body. A BMI of at least 25 indicates overweight. A BMI of 30 or more indicates you are obese. Generally, the higher your BMI, the higher your weight risk.

Your waist size indicates whether you have an “apple” shape and tend to carry fat around your midsection. Your health risks increase even further with increasing waist size. A waist measurement greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women indicates a significant increase in health risk.

To tell whether your weight is a health risk, locate your BMI in the “Find Your BMI” chart on the facing page. Then, measure your waist at the point below your ribcage but above your navel. Use your BMI and waist size to determine your risk using the Weighing Your Risk chart.

If your weight puts you at increased risk for health problems, talk with your primary health care provider about safe and suitable options for improving your health. Use the Checklist for Evaluating Weight Loss Products and Services on page 9 to gather information about different programs so you can choose the best one for you.

Find Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

Find your height in the left hand column. Then, move across the row to your weight. The number at the top of the column is your BMI.

Adapted with permission from Bray, GA., Gray, D.S.

Obesity, Part 1, Pathogenesis, West J. Med. 1988:149-41

Weighing Your Risk

Use this chart to see whether your weight puts you at increased risk for health problems. Find your BMI in the left-hand column. Then, locate your waist size in one of the top columns. The box where the two meet shows your level of risk.

For More Information

For more information on healthy weight management, get a copy of Setting Goals for Weight Loss or call 1.888.8.PUEBLO (1.888.878.3256).

Click here for a copy of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, or write:

ODPHP Communication

Support Center

P.O. Box 37366

Washington, DC 20013.7366

301.468.5960

Personal Health Profile Evaluation Checklist

Complete this profile with your primary health care provider to help you choosea weight loss program that's best for you.

My weight in pounds is: _________

My height in inches is: _________

My BMI* is: _________

My weight puts me at an [ ] increased [ ] high [ ] very high [ ] extremely high

Using the Weighing Your Risk chart to calculate.

Information from my primary health care provider.

My blood pressure is: _________

My blood cholesterol is: _________

My BMI* is: _________

My HDL cholesterol is: _________

My LDL cholesterol is: _________

My blood triglygeride level is: _________

My fasting blood sugar is: _________

* If your health care provider says these values are outside healthy ranges, you can improve them by losing and maintaining a moderate weight loss goal of five to 10 percent of your body weight, and increasing your physical activity level.

Checklist for Evaluating Weight Loss Programs and Services

Make several copies of the blank form so you can fill out one for each program. A provider's willingness to give you this information is an important factor in choosing a program. If you need help to evaluate the information you gather, talk with your primary health care provider or a registered dietician.

Use this checklist to gather and compare information form all weight loss programs you're considering

Program Name ______________________________________

Address ___________________________________________

Phone ______________________________________

In this program, my daily caloric intake will be: _______________

My daily caloric intake is determined by: ___________________

I [ ] will [ ] will not be evaluated initially by program staff.

The evaluation will be made by (check all that apply): [ ] Physician [ ] Nurse [ ] Registered Dietician [ ] Other company-trained employee

My progress is supervised by (check all that apply): [ ] Physician [ ] Nurse [ ] Licensed Psychologist [ ] Registered Dietician [ ] Company-trained employee

I [ ] will [ ] will not be evaluated by physician during the course of my treatment.

During the first month, my progress will be monitored: [ ] Weekly [ ] Biweekly [ ] Monthly [ ] Other ______________

After the first month, my progress will be monitored: [ ] Weekly [ ] Biweekly [ ] Monthly [ ] Other ______________

My weight loss plan includes (check all that apply):

[ ] Nutrition information about healthy eating

[ ] At least 1,200 calories/day for women or 1,400 calories/day for men

[ ] Suggested menus and recipes

[ ] Keeping food diaries or other monitoring activites

[ ] Portion control

[ ] Liquid meal replacements

[ ] Prepackaged meals

[ ] Dietary supplements (vitamins, minerals, botanicals, herbals)

[ ] Prescription weight loss drugs

[ ] Help with weight maintenance and lifestyle changes

[ ] Surgery

My plan includes regular physical activity that is (check both if both apply):

[ ] Supervised (at the program site) _____ times per week, _____ minutes per session

[ ] Unsupervised (on my own time) _____ times per week, _____ minutes per session

The physical activity includes (check all that apply):

[ ] Walking

[ ] Aerobic dancing

[ ] Strength training

[ ] Stationary cycling

[ ] Swimming

[ ] Other _________________________

The weight loss plan includes (check all that apply):

[ ] Family counseling

[ ] Lifestyle modification advice

[ ] Weight maintenance advice

[ ] Weight maintenance couseling

[ ] Group support

[ ] The staff explained the risks associated with this weight loss program. They are: _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________

The staff explained the costs of this program. (Check all that apply and fill in the blanks.)

[ ] I will be charged a one-time entry fee of $ _________.

[ ] I will be charged a $ _________ per visit.

[ ] Food replacements will cost about $ _________ per month.

[ ] Prescription weight loss drugs will cost about $ _________ per month.

[ ] Vitamins and other dietary supplements will cost about $ _________ per month.

[ ] Diagnostic tests are required and will cost about $ _________.

[ ] Other costs include ________________________ at $ _________.

Total cost for this program $ _________.

The program gave me information about:

[ ] The health risks of being overweight. [ ] The difficulty many people have maintaining weight loss. [ ] The health benefits of weight loss. [ ] How to improve my chances at maintaining my weight.

Other information to ask for:

[ ] Participants in this program have lost an average of _____lbs. over _____months/years. [ ] Participants in this program have kept off _____% of their weight loss for _____year(s).

This information is based on the following (check one):

[ ] All participants. [ ] Participants who completed the program. [ ] Other _______________________________________

Notes: _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________

The Partnership for Healthy Weight Management

The Partnership for Healthy Weight Mangement was organized in 1998 to promote reliable methods for healthy weight management. The partnership is composed of organizations and individuals from inducstry, public advovacy organizations, government agencies, scientific associations, and universities.

The Partnership issues Voluntary Guidelines for Providers of Weight Loss Products and Services to encourage weight loss programs to provide consumers with basic program information. Providers of weight loss products or services that choose to follow these guidelines will give you information to help you make sound weight management decisions.

To receive a copy of the Voluntary Guidelines for Providers of Weight Loss Products and Services, go to the Partnership for Healthy Weight Management Web page or write:

Federal Trade Commission

Consumer Response Center

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20580

Attention: Partnership for Healthy Weight Management

American Association of Lifestyle Counselors Dallas, TX

American Dietetic Association Chicago, IL

American Obesity Association Washington, DC

American Society for Clinical Nutrition Bethesda, MD

American Society for Bariatric Physicians Englewood, CO

American Society for Bariatric Surgery Gainsville, FL

Center for Bariatric Medicine Roanoke, VA

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA

Chapman & Company Charlottesville, VA

Comprehensive Weight Control Rockville, MD

Council on Size & Weight Discrimination Mt. Marion, NY

Department of Nutrition Sciences University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL

Division of Nutrition Reseach Coordination National Institutes Of Health University of Alabama at Birmingham Bethesda, MD

eDiets.com Deerfield Beach, FL

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Washington, DC

The George Washington University Obesity Management Program Washington, DC

Health Management Resources Boston, MA

International Food Information Council Washington, DC

Jenny Craig, Inc. Del Mar, CA

Knoll Pharmaceutical Company Mt. Olive, NJ

Lindora Medical Clinics Costa Mesa, CA

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Division of Cardiovascular Health and Nutrition Baltimore, MD

Medical University of South Carolina Weight Management Center Charleston, SC

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD

The New York Obesity Research Center New York, NY

North American Association for the Study of Obesity Silver Spring, MD

Novartis Nutrition Corporation St. Louis Park, MN

Pharmacists Planning Services, Inc. San Rafael, CA

Shape Up America! Bethesda, MD

Slim-Fast Foods Company West Palm Beach, FL

Society for Nutrition Education Bethesda, MD

Tanita Corporation of America Arlington Heights, IL

The Theodore Vanltallie Center for Nutrition and Weight Management St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center New York, NY

University of Colorado Center for Human Nutrition Denver, CO

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Washington, DC

Weight Watchers International, Inc Woodbury, NY

Wheat Foods Council Parker, CO