Obesity, defined by a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2, affects more than 31% of American adults. Additionally, nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults meet criteria for the metabolic syndrome, a clustering of clinical signs (i.e., elevated waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose or triglycerides, decreased HDL cholesterol) that is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular death. Behavior modification programs and pharmacologic interventions for obesity typically result in an 8% to 10% loss of initial body weight. Losses of this magnitude are associated with clinically significant improvements in metabolic parameters among obese persons. The availability of traditional behavioral weight control programs, however, is limited as many of these programs are based in academic medical centers. Furthermore, pharmacotherapy is seldom covered by third-party payers. Thus, there are concerns about the accessibility of these interventions to the many obese individuals who could benefit from weight loss.