US researchers say structured programmes that help the overweight and the obese eat less and exercise more work, appear to work somewhat in the battle of the bulge.

Two recent studies published online by the Journal of the American Medical Association and presented at the meeting of the Obesity Society in San Diego, reveal people participating in the programmes lost weight with a combination of dieting and exercise.

In one of the studies, those participants who began an exercise and a diet programme simultaneously fared best.  The other study compared Nestle AG’s Jenny Craig Inc. commercial weight-loss programmes and meals, with conventional care.

The researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association said intensive lifestyle interventions using a behaviour based approach are capable of producing clinically significant and meaningful weight loss.

In what is being deemed as a growing threat to public health, including a drain on the nation’s healthcare system, over 72 million or 26.7% of Americans are obese.

So far, drug manufacturers have been completely unsuccessful in coming up with a pill to melt away the pounds, with many of their promising treatments marred by safety concerns.  The latest weight loss pill to be pulled off the market by the US Food and Drug Administration is Abbott Laboratories’ Meridia, leaving only the risky though successful approach of weight-loss surgery and behaviour modification programmes.

For the study 130 obese adults were didvided into two groups.  One group was made to diet and exercise for a year; while the other group dieted for the first six months, then incorporated an exercise programme, working up to walking for an hour five days a week.

By the year end, the group that started exercising first lost nearly 27-lbs (12 kg), while the group that delayed exercising lost 22-lbs (10 kg).  Both groups lost abdominal fat resulting in slimmer waists, had less fatty build-up in their livers, had lower blood pressure and saw improvements in the way their bodies processed sugar , which are all positive signs of improvement in cardiovascular risk factors.

In the second study, the Jenny Craig weight-loss programme was compared to standard counselling in 442 overweight or obese women, placed in one of three groups.

One group attended classes at a weight-loss centre; another group received weekly weight-loss counselling over the telephone, with both groups getting free meals provided by Jenny Craig.

The third group underwent two weight-loss counselling sessions, including having monthly contact with a dietician.

After two years, half the women in the weight-loss groups receiving free Jenny Craig meals lost 5% of their body weight, as compared to 29% who received usual care.

The findings raise the possibility that if structured commercial weight-loss programmes, such as, Jenny Craig, which costs $1,600 for 12 weeks of counselling and food were provided free of charge, retention and average weight-loss outcomes might be better, a worthwhile health care investment.