Nutrition & Obesity Publications
Spring/Summer 1997
National Task Force Workshop Determines Need for
Weight-loss Clinical Trial
Participants at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases' (NIDDK) National Task Force on Prevention and Treatment of Obesity workshop concluded a randomized clinical trial (RCT) is necessary to show the risks and benefits of intentional weight loss in obese individuals. Attendees at the April 17-18, 1997, workshop concurred that any RCT pursued must consider the health effects of sustained weight loss.
"Workshop participants agreed that there are many unknowns about an issue with tremendous public health implications that can only be definitively addressed by a clinical trial," says Dr. Susan Yanovski, Task Force executive director.
Experts in obesity, nutrition, epidemiology, pharmacology, psychology, exercise physiology, and clinical trials design attended the "Workshop to Determine the Feasibility of an RCT of Long-term Intentional Weight Loss in Obesity" on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Clinicians and researchers discussed current knowledge about the health effects of intentional weight loss in humans and animals, as well as study design issues.
NIDDK will make workshop proceedings available through the Weight-control Information Network. NIDDK will also collect additional information to determine which outcome measures, interventions, and populations might be feasible to study.
NIDDK, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute cosponsored the workshop.
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