A new study suggests that for overweight and obese women hoping to lose weight, a positive body image may help. In research published July 18, dieting women who underwent counseling to improve their body image dropped more weight than women who were only given general health advice

Researchers from the Technical University of Lisbon and Bangor University in Wales enlisted overweight women in a year-long study, with the counseling group losing an average of 7 percent of their starting weight. The control group lost less than 2 percent on average.

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