Treating Obesity in Underserved Overweight Populations

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions with nearly two-thirds of the US population either overweight or obese. Thus, novel strategies that both improve weight loss maintenance and are accessible to those most in need are the focus of this application, which will determine if a telemedicine system can help participants, who have undergone a weight loss program based in church and community centers, maintain their weight loss over a 1 year period. Telemedicine will provide support through self-monitoring, education, supervised chat room, bulletin board, and e-mail.