Copyright (c) 2008 Mark Albertson Increasing proportion of obesity in this country has sparked a feverish activity among serious researchers and charlatans to discover the perfect method for weight loss. A recent study of four diets showed that the key to successful weight loss is not diet, but how you follow it closely. Investigators from Tufts-New England Medical Center (Journal of the American Medical Association, January 2005) were determined in a study of four popular diet key to successful weight loss is not the regime itself, but effective follow nutrition. In this one-year study of 160 obese adults, researchers divided people into four diet groups: · Weight Watchers (low calorie) • The Zone Diet (low glycemic index) • The Ornish diet (low fat) • The Atkins Diet (Low Carb) The conclusion of the study is that all these systems were working when the study participants followed them. The problem is that fewer than one in four were able to remain in their diet because just this year. It should be noted that the most difficult diet to comply with WAS Atkins, followed by the Ornish diet, but according to the authors of the study, “no single system produces satisfactory compliance. Hypnosis has been recognized as both a way to help people stick to their diets, and for retraining the mind to “think” like a thin person, to give up dieting completely and to develop healthy eating habits that are related to eating lean people. As I said, the wild and exaggerated claims abound about hypnosis as one of the most attractive lure the eyes of those who are hungry for a seemingly simple solution to a complex problem. A careful examination of the scientific literature exposes many of the claims about weight loss through hypnosis on the internet as overly optimistic at best and openly fraudulent at worst. Spa pools considerable disagreement about the mechanisms that hypnosis actually contributes to weight loss. Leon (1976) believe that hypnosis can help the team more obese healthy eating habits and maintaining them. One writer noted that the hypnotic state is characterized by an increased concentration, suggestibility, and relaxation (Mott, 1982). Some individuals are supposed to be able to reach this state more easily than others. A so-called hypnotic “induction” which involves a hypnotist using certain procedures to obtain a person in the hypnotic state is not a necessary condition for the state (Mott, 1982). Hypnosis, contrary to what some intemet advertisers can not magically reprogram people’s minds. In short, hypnosis techniques run from simple relaxation techniques to formal induction administered by Hypnotist, but should not be considered supernatural in its effects. Studies show weight loss due to hypnosis only are few and suffer from methodological problems. Andersen (1985) reported that, after 8 treatment sessions per week and 12 weeks of practicing self-hypnosis subjects lost an average of 20th £ 2nd Cochrane and Friesen (1986) concluded that moderate weight loss was obtained by subjects with hypnosis. The experimental group lost more weight than controls and maintained the weight loss over a six-month follow-up. Mott (1982) stated that “although hypnosis is sometimes referred to as a method of treatment, it is more accurate to regard hypnosis as a facilitator for a number of different treatments.” The study concludes that the use of hypnosis for a moderate weight loss is effective with hypnotherapy. Hypnosis Plus Behavioral Weight Management A number of studies indicate that hypnosis combined with a program of weight control behavior contributes to weight loss. Bolocofsky, Spinler, and Coulthard-Morris (1985) found that adding hypnosis one behavioral programs aimed at changing eating habits have increased the amount of weight at 8 months and 2 years of follow up. Both programs of hypnosis and behavior have been adapted to each individual substance in the study. Bolocofsky et al. (1984) acknowledged that “the less a person weighed at the beginning of the program the more likely it was to lose weight and maintain that reduction.” Hypnosis combined with behavioral weight management seems to be more effective for small amounts of weight loss. Another study of 45 women found that supplementing self-management program based on hypnosis resulted in a slightly higher weight loss during a 3-month follow-up (Barabasz and Spiegel, 1989). The group individualized hypnotic suggestions were developed lost more weight than those exposed only to a procedure group. Kirsch (1996) noted a weight loss of 6 years. 00 pounds without hypnosis and 11. 83 pounds with hypnosis is based on a meta-analysis of six studies. Allison and Faith (1996), but objected and argued that hypnosis only increases cognitive-behavioral little or not at all. In the long term hypnosis combined with a personalized program for weight management behavior appears to produce modest weight loss and helps maintain it. Hypnosis operates mainly as a way to increase participants’ attention to suggestions of behavioral programs and increase their weight loss. Studies using behavioral treatments successfully “typically have developed incentive systems to bridge the gap between short-term reinforcers provided during treatment and long-term weight loss” (Bolocofsky et al., 1985). Hypnosis can not fulfill this role by acting as a psychological capacity. Hypnosis can help individuals learn positive eating behaviors and creating healthy long-term patterns of food intake. Subjects are then more likely to integrate the rules of a particular program into their behavioral regimes (Bolocofsky, 1985). Kroger (1970) emphasizes the similarities between hypnosis and behavioral treatments that share a focus on visualization and imagination. The literature suggests that hypnosis is an ideal complement to programs for behavioral management weight tend to have to follow to achieve long-term results. The problem MESS Studies of weight with the help of people of different ages and backgrounds is a challenge that plagues studies of hypnosis as a useful treatment for weight loss. Andersen (1985) used subjects aged 21-56 years, a large gap. Subjects in another study were aged 17 to 67, leading to large differences in potential between the control group and group hypnosis (Bolocofsky et al., 1985). The fact that patients were not matched according to age could exaggerate results of weight because of hypnosis that may more accurately be attributed to age differences. McCabe, Jupp, and Collins (I985) suggests a tendency for young women to abandon their program of weight loss compared with older women, leading to a possible masking of potential effects of age. Bolocofsky et al. (1984) showed that successful hypnotic weight loss participants were higher in self-control, weighed less at baseline, married, and more expressive. A variety of factors that determine whether a given subject will lose weight through a program of hypnosis weight loss. Anderson (1985) mentions the absence of matched subjects as a weakness in his experience. Other studies on topics closely aligned with the various features to be implemented in order to prove its claims of efficacy of hypnosis for weight loss in combination with a behavioral program. Most studies require weeks consultation with a hypnotist for 8 weeks or more of self-hypnosis (Bolocofsky et al. 1984; Bolocofsky et al., 1985, Andersen 1985, Cochrane & Friesen, 1986, McCabe et al., 1985). Internet advertisers who claim weight loss will occur after a session of hypnosis, especially a group hypnotic session, are frauds selling dreams to desperate customers. Allison and Faith (1996) stresses that “there is currently no panacea for the treatment of obesity and hypnosis is no exception. Treatment with hypnosis is not a quick and easy way to weight problems. To achieve the full benefits of its use, hypnosis must be practiced regularly for a long time. Conclusions and limitations Hypnosis has proved to be an effective treatment for mild to moderate amount of weight loss. A reserve of this statement is that the hypnotic program should be tailored to each individual. Hypnosis is a process whereby a person enters a state of relaxation and suggestibility increased processing of the brain through a mysterious process defines only the hypnosis pseudo-scientific. Quick-fix hypnosis is probably much less effective than a program for 8 weeks with two home hypnosis session self hypnosis, weight management and behavior. The only people who say that hypnosis is easy, simple and fast, they are trying to sell people on their programs. The biggest obstacle to weight loss is maintained over the long term, but monitoring of hypnosis as a treatment for weight loss have been conducted at the longest after two years. Band weight loss and lack of scientific evidence to support their success and must be purchased with this knowledge in mind. Weight loss through hypnosis has been largely ignored by researchers and other studies with control groups and large subject pools are necessary to understand its activities and imports.