Health Topic

Weight Control

About two thirds of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese. A weight control strategy can help you keep a healthy weight.

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Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Weight Control

If you are struggling with your weight, you are not alone. In the United States, more than 70 percent of adults are overweight or have obesity. Having this extra weight raises your risk for many health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and certain cancers.

Reaching and staying at a healthy weight can be challenging. But having a healthy lifestyle, including healthy eating patterns and regular physical activity, can help you lose weight. It can also lower your chance of developing weight-related health conditions.

You gain weight when you take in more calories (through food and drinks) than you use up from physical activity and daily living. But there are many different factors that can affect weight gain, such as:

  • The world around you. Your home, community, and workplace all may affect how you make daily lifestyle choices. For example: It is often easier to find food and beverages high in calories, sugar, and fat. For instance, vending machines, cafeterias, and special events may not offer healthy, lower calorie options.
  • Less healthy foods may be cheaper than healthier foods.
  • Many people are getting less physical activity because they are spending more time using smartphones and other devices.

Getting to and staying at a healthy weight involves finding a balance of food and activity. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you use up. Some ways to do this are:

  • Eating more nutrient-rich foods, such as foods with lots of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  • Eating and drinking less of the foods and beverages that have lots of calories, salt, sugar, and fat.
  • Limiting alcohol.
  • Finding healthier ways to cook, such as using healthier oils to cook with and baking or grilling instead of frying foods.
  • Getting more physical activity. The general recommendation is for adults to get 150 minutes of physical activity each week. This time can be broken down into short bursts of activity throughout your day. Types of physical activity include: Aerobic activity, which is also called cardio. It uses your large muscle groups (chest, legs, and back) to speed up your heart rate and breathing.
  • Muscle-strengthening activity, which is also called strength training. It works your muscles by making you push or pull against something.

You may decide to do these lifestyle changes on your own, or you may decide to try a weight-loss diet or program. Before you start, it's important to check with your health care provider first. Your provider can tell you what a healthy weight is for you, help you set goals, and give you tips on how to lose weight.

If making lifestyle changes or doing a weight-loss program are not enough to help you lose weight, your provider may prescribe medicines. These medicines are meant to help people who have weight-related health conditions and should be used along with healthy eating and physical activity. The prescription medicines to treat overweight and obesity work in different ways. Some may help you feel less hungry or full sooner. Others may make it harder for your body to absorb fat from the foods you eat.

Another treatment is weight loss surgery. Your provider may recommend the surgery if you have severe obesity or serious obesity-related health problems and you have not been able to lose enough weight.

Maintaining weight loss can be challenging, and it's normal to slip back into old habits sometimes. The key is to keep a healthy balance of food and activity that works for you. Checking your weight regularly can help you notice small changes early and stay on track. And if you have a setback, don't be discouraged, simply refocus on your healthy habits and keep going.

It sits within Food and Nutrition.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Weight Control

3,566 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Living With

Related Issues

Statistics and Research

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Weight Loss, Weight Reduction Programs, Body Weight Maintenance. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Weight Control, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.