Recommendations for the prevention and management of being overweight and obese emphasize lifestyle modifications, which include dietary habits, increased physical activity, and changes in thinking or perception. Lifestyle modifications have been reported to reduce an average of 5-10 percent of the initial body weight over a period of 6 months. This is of importance as revised guidelines for obesity recommend that a sustained weight loss of as little as 3-5 percent of the initial body weight may lead to a clinically meaningful reduction in cardiovascular risk factors associated with obesity.

The mechanisms underlying the benefits of healthy eating, healthy cooking, increased physical activity, and altered behavior have been investigated. Some of the changes occur in metabolism, in the autonomic nervous system and in humoral factors which influence satiety. However, these findings require further investigation.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Lifestyle modifications and its effects on central mechanisms influencing satiety and hunger
• Cellular and/or systemic changes in metabolism due to lifestyle modifications
• Alterations in autonomic nervous system activity and lifestyle modifications in obesity
• Effect of lifestyle modifications on body image perception and other psychological factors associated with obesity
• Response to varying levels of intensity of the components of lifestyle modifications in obesity
• Systematic reviews on the mechanisms underlying the effects of lifestyle modifications in obesity
• Limitations of lifestyle modifications in weight regulation in specific conditions