Dr. Peter J. Morelli, who runs a children's obesity clinic at Stony Brook Hospital, questions whether the social environment of an adult gym is best for young patrons.

Q: You've said your mom took you to an obesity clinic when you were nine.

He was with Harlem Hospital from 1950 to 1966 as chief of metabolic services and its diabetes and obesity clinics, as well as acting director of the hospital in the early 1960's.

OWL is described by ChildMagazine as one of the most comprehensive pediatric obesity clinics in the country.

At Ludwig's pediatric obesity clinic, he has been prescribing low-glycemic-index diets to children and adolescents for five years now.

He lost weight effortlessly, had his epiphany and turned a fledgling Manhattan cardiology practice into a thriving obesity clinic.

The syndrome afflicts 9 to 15 percent of people seeking treatment in obesity clinics, and about half of those patients were of normal weight before they started night eating.

The hospital also runs a breast center, obesity clinic, and a female urology clinic for the treatment of women.

"Many of the women seen at obesity clinics, when asked when they started gaining weight, say, 'It all started when I started having kids,'" Olson says.

The quality and effectiveness of these programs vary widely, from reputable obesity clinics associated with hospitals to quick weight-loss schemes that may even harm your health with untested "miracle" products.