What Are the Future Directions for Basic Science, Clinical Research, and Epidemiological Evaluation of Therapy?
The panel recognized the need to develop safe and effective means to treat patients with clinically severe obesity. In the view of the panel, none of the available therapies, including surgery, has been adequately evaluated. For this reason, it is recommended that centers be developed that can manage patients with clinically severe obesity, using a multidisciplinary approach, and, at the same time, can enter these patients into controlled investigations with long-term followup. The research will need to involve a team that includes professionals trained in fields such as epidemiology, nutrition, surgery, general medicine, gastroenterology, cardiovascular-pulmonary medicine, psychiatry, and endocrinology. Only if in-depth investigations are carried out over long periods will needed information be obtained to care for obese patients more effectively in the future. A series of issues arose during the conference that need additional investigation. These issues include the following: • The
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