Impact of a Novel Wellness Group Visit Model on Obesity and Behavior Change.

Background: Increasing weight-related illness in the United States has led to 120,000 preventable deaths annually and soaring medical costs. Treating patients in a group setting may be more effective than traditional care (TC) in achieving behavioral change. We studied a wellness-group (WG) model to determine whether it could generate sustained behavioral change and weight loss in a subset of patients.