Lifestyle: importance of a balanced diet and physical activity.

The goal of this article is to provide evidenced-based information to help the clinician understand the relationship of lifestyle (nutritional and activity) approaches to disease prevention and health promotion. Major health factors correlated to these activities of daily life will be reviewed.

Behavioral and medical management of obesity.

South Dakota physicians are confronted by an epidemic of obesity. Developing an effective management strategy for patients with this condition can be daunting. This article reviews the evidence behind dietary, exercise-based, and pharmacological approaches to the care of the overweight and obese patient, offering recommendations to the clinician based on this evidence.

Weight-loss supplements: what is the evidence?

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in this country. In an effort to address this major public health problem, people have adopted a variety of strategies. These include medical and surgical interventions, both rational and fad diets, exercise and assorted weight-loss dietary supplements.

Nutritional treatment of obesity.

The focus of this article is nutritional strategies for weight loss. Following a review of general nutritional principles, the evidence behind specific nutritional weight-loss strategies is presented. These strategies include nutritional supplements, nutrient-limited diets, and energy-limited diets.