Poster The Importance of The Behavioral Modification in the Obesity Treatment

One of themost important areas of treatment of obesity, which has gained importance in recent years, is the behavioralmodification in eating disorders. Behavio rmodification therapy is based on diet, exercise and behavioral therapy. Itis much more effective when it is supported by changing eating habits with individual or Group therapy and varioussupport methods (1). The purpose of the treatment of behavior modification is to regulate body weight of patients to changeeating behavior and to treat for improving the quality of life. The main purpose of the treatment is to change the eating andthe physical behavior not to treat or remove psychiatric disorders.An other aim in this treatment is to learn the reason ofthe behavior problem and also to teach the techniques of changes (2). Strategies were developed to provide long-term weightconservation in behavior modification therapy and the objectives are summarized below:1)Goalsetting2)Self monitoring3)Stimuluscontrol4)Self reward5)Foodsuggestions6)Alternativebehaviordevelopment7)Cognitivebehaviormodification(3).In a study revealed that the husbands, who wives to participated in the behavior intervention program, bécame moreaccurate observers of changes in their wives' eating habits and were observed as being more helpful to body weight lossthan were non involved husbands (4). In another study children who completed the family-based behavior interventionprogram lost a significant amount of weight and reported significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and eatingattitudes that were maintained over time (5). Another study shows that life style interventions (behavioral modificationtreatment) can produce long term weight loss and improvement in fitness and sustained beneficial effects on cardiovasculardiseases risk factors (6). In a study 3200 obese and over weight individuals with glucose intolerance separated to lifestyleintervention group, metformin Group and placebo group. End of the study highest body weight loss was observed at life styleintervention group. Also, this study show that life style interventions can reduce the incidince of diabetes. The incidenceof diabetes was reduced by 58 percent with the lifestyle intervention and by 31 percent with metformin, as comparedwith placebo (7).Consequently health expenditures are increasing due to diseases (cardiovasculardiseases, diabetes, etc.)causedbyobesity.Forthisreason, behaviormodificationtherapyto beconsidered as thefirsttreatmentmethodforobeseindividuals,it can helptoreducehealthexpendituresandalsopreventdiseasescausedbyobesity. Biography:Gamze