Weight-Loss Groups on the Web

Abstract

Abstract The weight loss/control industry has proliferated to match the growing problem of obesity in the American population. A selection of weight-loss organizations are profiled as a launching point to locating information on the Web. Comparisons of each site review such aspects as the history of the group, testimonies of weight loss, recipes, chat groups, and other interactive features such as an online body mass index calculator or a menu planner. Suggestions for searching the Internet with various search engines, i.e., YAHOO!, Excite, Snap!, and GoTo, for example, provide leads to thousands of resources—from personal pages to those developed by government agencies and established health care organizations.