Another tip the site gives is this: "Successful weight loss (losing weight and keeping it off for at least five years) is accomplished by making positive changes to both eating habits and physical activity patterns." <

It is the change of habits and an increase in physical activity that is the basis of successful weight management, which introduces the issue of accountability. With in-person meetings, a nutrition counselor can monitor your program, take measurements and help alter the plan. While online plans offer everything from chat rooms, peer advice and professional counseling to online recording and personalized fitness plans, accountability is based on the participant reporting accurately. <

That said, online dieters do much better when they are in structured environments. A 2001 study conducted by Brown University's Deborah F. Tate concluded: "Participants who were given a structured behavioral treatment program with weekly and individualized feedback had better weight loss compared with those given links to education sites. Thus, the Internet and e-mail appear to be a viable method of delivery of structured behavioral weight loss programs." <

Tate also studied Internet behavioral counseling for adults at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. She concluded that "adding e-mail counseling to a basic Internet weight loss intervention program improved weight loss in adults at risk of diabetes." <

This does not mean that online dieting is better than face-to-face meetings. Quite the contrary, and eDiets.com was recently spanked by Tate for misusing the study to conclude that online dieting was better than offline programs. <

"That's not what my research shows," she told U.S. News and World Report in November. <

One recent study of weight-loss results among eDiets.com users by the University of Pennsylvania and highlighted in U.S. News and World Report showed that face-to-face programs result in two to three times the weight loss in six months. <

Tallmadge says that she's seen a lot of success with both online and offline clients who stick with the program, but admits the drop-out rate is high for both. <

Susan Burke, a registered dietitian and director of nutrition services for eDiets.com, said that she, too, was skeptical of online nutrition counseling when she joined the Florida-based service four years ago. She said she was hooked in the first couple of months when she was giving advice to patients as far away as South Africa. This breadth, range and around-the-clock service was unheard of before the Internet. <

"Behavioral change is really difficult," she says. "Most people don't eat just when they need fuel. Some people eat when they're anxious and stressed. They eat for negative reasons. Food is kind of benign, and not as obvious as drugs. It is a hard thing to adopt good habits without long-term support and feedback." <

As to the issue of accountability, she says that eDiets.com's personalized service, everything from peer-to-peer help in chat rooms to online assessments of goals to individualized attention, are good examples of the site's orientation toward long-term weight management. The site also offers aid for people who are using branded diets such as Atkins, The Zone and Dr. Phil McGraw's Shape Up! Plan. <

Burke says that among registered dietitians she's talked to at recent conferences, a number of them are using online services as a supplement to their work. <

"Three years ago (at the ADA convention) in Philadelphia, I would say, 'Hi, my name is Susan, and I'm with eDiets,' and people would respond, 'Ugh.' Now people are talking about eDiets not as a replacement but an adjunct. No dietitian can answer questions 24 hours a day. And we're all trying to do the same thing - help the patients." <