Weight management

Weight management comprises behaviors, techniques, and physiological processes that contribute to a person's ability to attain and maintain a healthy weight. Most weight management techniques encompass long-term lifestyle strategies that promote healthy eating and daily physical activity. Weight management generally includes tracking weight over time and identifying an individual's ideal body weight.

Weight management strategies most often focus on achieving healthy weights through slow but steady weight loss, followed by maintenance of an ideal body weight. However, weight neutral approaches to health have also been shown to result in positive health outcomes.

Understanding the basic science of weight management and strategies for attaining and maintaining a healthy weight is important because obesity is a risk factor for development of many chronic diseases, like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.