TALK: Psychology Colloquium

Title: Current Controversies and Future Directions in the Treatment of Obesity.

Abstract: How to best support adults with obesity is a significant research and clinical challenge, not only because of the high prevalence of obesity but also due to its seeming intransient nature both in terms of prevention and treatment. Given these challenges, it is perhaps not surprising that considerable controversy has emerged in terms of how to best meet this challenge. This presentation will begin with an exploration of one of these controversies, namely, whether researchers and clinicians should continue focusing on behavioural weight loss programs for adults with obesity. The presentation will then provide an overview of two recent studies on behavioural weight loss programs that sought to increase both the effectiveness and scalability of these programs through (1) the inclusion of support people in the intervention and (2) the use of technological strategies to augment face-to-face treatment.