Systematic review of long-term weight loss studies in obese adults: clinical significance and applicability to clinical practice

BACKGROUND:Obesity is a common health problem that requires a long-term care approach. We systematically reviewed long-term (≥2 y) studies investigating dietary/lifestyle, pharmacologic, and surgical weight loss methods to assess (1) weight loss efficacy, defined by absolute weight loss and the proportion of subjects with ≥5% weight loss, (2) effects of weight loss on cardiovascular risk factors, and (3) applicability of findings from studies …