Do weight loss centers really work?

From NewsTarget.com:

Weight Loss Centers Are Popular, But Do They Really Work?

There's a tremendous amount of money to be made in helping people lose weight and fight obesity. Accordingly, all sorts of franchises are expanding across America and attempting to help people lose weight by pursuing a variety of strategies, including calorie control, hypnosis, weight loss supplements, and physical fitness.

One of the most popular franchises is, of course, Weight Watchers, which now holds 44,000 meetings a week in 30 countries. Americans are spending $40 billion a year on weight loss products and services. Many weight loss franchises, however, don't do very well in the long run. The Jenny Craig franchise, for example, saw its sales plummet after hiring Monica Lewinsky as a spokesperson.

The bigger question in all this is, of course, do any of these really work? Do they really help people lose weight, and if so, which ones work the best?

It's not such a simple answer, it turns out. My belief is that all of these approaches work if people are willing to work them. You can lose weight by altering your belief systems through hypnosis or neurolinguistic programming, You can lose weight by greatly increasing the amount of physical exercise you pursue. You can lose some weight by taking certain nutritional supplements, and you can lose weight by controlling your calories and managing your meals. So there is a winning strategy in all these weight loss centers. The problem with weight-loss centers and these franchises, however, is not that their plans don't work, but rather that most people aren't willing to work the plans.

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