Obesity is a world-wide pandemic and its incidence is on the rise along with associated comorbidities. Currently, there are few effective therapies to combat obesity. The use of lifestyle modification therapy, namely, improvements in diet and exercise, is preferable over bariatric surgery or pharmacotherapy due to surgical risks and issues with drug efficacy and safety. Although they are initially successful in producing weight loss, such lifestyle intervention strategies are generally unsuccessful in achieving long-term weight maintenance, with the vast majority of obese patients regaining their lost weight during followup. Recently, various compensatory mechanisms have been elucidated by which the body may oppose new weight loss, and this compensation may result in weight regain back to the obese baseline. The present review summarizes the available evidence on these compensatory mechanisms, with a focus on weight loss-induced changes in energy expenditure, neuroendocrine pathways, nutrient metabolism, and gut physiology. These findings have added a major focus to the field of antiobesity research. In addition to investigating pathways that induce weight loss, the present work also focuses on pathways that may instead prevent weight regain. Such strategies will be necessary for improving long-term weight loss maintenance and outcomes for patients who struggle with obesity.

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In this paper we describe the effect of incorporating two mindfulness techniques (keeping a diary and motivational interviewing) in a professional skills course, and the impact these had on students’ self-perceptions of mindfulness. Over the course of a fourteen-week semester, students were asked to keep a diary at four different time points and were also taught motivational interviewing skills, which they had to apply to a four-part counseling project. Using a pre-post study design and the validated tool, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), we meausred students’ perceptions of mindfulness pre-course and post-course. Results from the study indicated that students’ perceptions of mindfulness significantly increased from pre-course to post-course. Further, most students agreed that both the diary assignments and practicing motivational interviewing increased mindfulness from pre-course to post-course. Additionally, a majority of students reported that practicing motivational interviewing enhanced their counseling skills on the four-part counseling project, and that the four diary assignments improved their writing skills. This study underscores the importance of incorporating mindfulness techniques into a professional skills course to increase students’ mindfulness, which can further benefit the student by increasing students’ professional skills to become more competent counselors and writers.