Considers whether hypnotherapy offers a motivating supplement to mainstream dietary management, given that insufficient perseverance undermines the response of many obese patients to conventional dieting. Investigates hypnotherapy as a supplement to conventional diet therapy in eight obese patients recruited from a general practice. After instituting dietary weight reduction, hypnotherapy (post‐hypnotic suggestion, ego‐enhancing instructions and mental imagery) was carried out on a two‐to‐three weekly basis for up to 20 sessions. All patients experienced significant weight loss, but follow‐up two years later indicated partial relapse in most patients. Concludes that, while combined dietetic and hypnotherapy management are of short‐term value, this may only be sustainable by a strategy of long‐term maintenance.
