A study of obesity management contrasted the effectiveness for 30 moderately mentally retarded adolescents of a multicomponent behavioral weight reduction program with a more traditional, nutrition based approach. Twelve Ss each were assigned to a behavior therapy (BT) and a social nutrition (SN) group, with the remaining six Ss in a wait-list control group (WLC). The behavioral approaches trained included the manipulation of emotional responses, food cue elimination techniques, changes in the act of eating, exercise, and development of alternative activities to eating. Ss received school and home reinforcement for weight loss. Topics for the SN group discussion included advantages of exercising, low calorie snack substitutes, and setting weight goals. Ss in the BT group lost significantly more weight than Ss in the SN or WLC groups. Ss in the BT group continued to lose weight during maintenance and followup. (CL)