In response to the era’s slimmer-is-better mentality, a period when women crave Kate Moss’s figure, not Kate Smith’s, and men prefer Leonardo’s abs over Clinton’s bulge, hundreds of on-line dieting and fitness Web sites are posted on the Internet.

Medical experts who specialize in weight loss are encouraging those turning to the World Wide Web for dieting advice, products, or programs, do so with caution and skepticism. Dr. Ken Fujioka, MD of Scripps Clinic in Del Mar, California says all the weight loss snake oil, scams, and unhealthy advice found off the Web are found in equal measure on-line. “There are some patients who will do well going on the Web and finding a program that’s appropriate for them,” says Fujioka. “The bad thing is that there is some danger out there.”

Fujioka recommends carefully scrutinizing a Web site’s ulterior motivations and credentials before committing to a program or handing over a credit card. “If they’re selling something such as an herb or medication, the buyer needs to beware,” says Fujioka. “If it says ‘RD’ or Registered Dietitian, that is a good thing, but if it just says ‘doctor,’ unfortunately it could be a Doctor of anything.”

Brenda Storey has failed to lose weight using many diets, regimens, and programs, including prominent ones advertised on TV and ones only she seemed to hear about and would rather forget. Storey says, for her, the diets worked in the beginning but the weight returned. Among the biggest turn-offs: having to drive to a diet center to be measured regularly. Today Storey’s dieting program is as close as the family computer. “I don’t have to go somewhere to be measured and weigh in,” says Storey who has lost twenty pounds in three months.

Storey’s blood pressure, cholesterol, family history, and denial indicated that it was time to reduce her weight if she wanted to maintain good health in her middle years and beyond. “I’d wear baggy clothes and you couldn’t really see how heavy I was,” she says. “I’d wear my husband’s clothes.”

Storey and thousands needing or wanting to shed pounds are discovering on-line dieting and some of the Internet’s hi-tech advantages. There are Web sites with public chat rooms for discussing the motivational aspects of losing weight, fat and calorie calculators, low fat recipes galore, and even sites that build morphed images of a slimmer you. Prices for using various sites range from no charge at all, to hundreds of dollars. Some services use automated computer programs that simply respond to data put in by the consumer, while others feature one-on-one accredited professionals who counsel clients throughout a program.

Dr. Fujioka says in a fact-finding consumer survey of weight loss programs, a 140-pound, 5’9” male (considered to have little excess body fat) was promised by numerous programs that it was possible, as requested, to lose 10 to 15 pounds. This would be unnecessary and unwise for this individual, says Fujioka. “The scary part is he’s clearly not heavy enough,” he says.

Steve Lucovsky says he lost 17 pounds in about three months using a diet program on the Web. “This finally taught me how to eat a proper balanced meal.” As a general rule, one to two pounds of weight lost a week is safest, Dr. Fujioka advises.

Dr. Fujioka cautions those with pre-existing conditions such as diabetics to consult their physician prior to any on-line weigh loss program, and to check in–in person–with the doctor once the fat is starting to come off. “They may run into problems with their medications, blood sugars can go too low, and they can get into some serious problems,” he says.

But Dr. Fujioka knows there’s no stopping the cyber-pursuit of a tighter waistline and hips. He says today’s coming of age generations hold an advantage over older folks new to the Web in not being scammed or mis-advised in integrating weight loss, nutrition, and fitness on and off-line: “The newer generations may do well because this is what they’re used to and this is how they’re going to buy things and how they’re going to function in life.”

But young or old, with a little homework, the Web can offer a right match for each dieter’s needs and personality. “If you take somebody’s preferences and individualize it and have them follow it, they can do well and they can lose weight,” says Fujioka.

Brenda Storey has stopped wearing her husband’s clothes. “I feel great. I bought some new clothes,” she says. “I bought a size 10 pants. I don’t remember when I’ve done that.”