The World Health Organization (WHO) sees obesity as one of the greatest challenges for public health in the 21st century. The Austrian Institute for Health Technology Assessment (AIHTA) has now examined group programmes offered in Austria, Germany and Switzerland for children, adolescents and adults with either overweight or grade 1 obesity, as well as numerous international literature sources. From the results, the researchers have derived various strategies that can lead to better accessibility of the target groups when designing programmes and consequently to a higher motivation to participate.