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Editorial
. 2025 Jul;40(10):2383-2392.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-024-09084-z. Epub 2024 Oct 16.

Opportunities for General Internal Medicine to Promote Equity in Obesity Care

Ryan M Kane  1   2 , Jacinda M Nicklas  3 , Jessica L Schwartz  4 , Carolyn T Bramante  5   6 , William S Yancy Jr  7 , Kimberly A Gudzune  8 , Melanie R Jay  9   10   11
Affiliations
Editorial

Opportunities for General Internal Medicine to Promote Equity in Obesity Care

Ryan M Kane et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

The number and complexity of obesity treatments has increased rapidly in recent years. This is driven by the approval of new anti-obesity medications (AOMs) that produce larger degrees of weight loss than previously approved AOMs. Unfortunately, access to these highly effective therapies and to integrated team-based obesity care is limited by intra-/interpersonal patient, institutional/practitioner, community, and policy factors. We contextualized these complexities and the impact of patients' social drivers of health (SDOH) by adapting the social ecological model for obesity. Without multi-level intervention, these barriers to care will deepen the existing inequities in obesity prevalence and treatment outcomes among historically underserved communities. As General Internal Medicine (GIM) physicians, we can help our patients navigate the complexities of evidence-based obesity treatments. As care team leaders, GIM physicians are well-positioned to (1) improve education for trainees and practitioners, (2) address healthcare-associated weight stigma, (3) advocate for equity in treatment accessibility, and (4) coordinate interdisciplinary teams around non-traditional models of care focused on upstream (e.g., policy changes, insurance coverage, health system culture change, medical education requirements) and downstream (e.g., evidence-based weight management didactics for trainees, using non-stigmatizing language with patients, developing interdisciplinary weight management clinics) strategies to promote optimal obesity care for all patients.

Keywords: General Internal Medicine; health equity; medical education; obesity; social ecological model.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations:. Conflict of Interest:: RMK has no conflicts of interest to report. JMN has several institutional grants through Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Cleerly Inc., and the McGowan Charitable Fund. JMN received speaking honoraria from The Institute for Value-Based Medicine. JLS received funding from Novo Nordisk Inc. to develop and test a clinical decision support tool for obesity management in primary care. JLS received funding from the Ardmore Institute of Health to evaluate an employee health program targeting blood pressure management. CTB is supported by a NIH K23 for work related to this manuscript. WSY has received consulting fees from FoodMinds. KAG is the Chief Medical Officer of the American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) Foundation. KAG previously was faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and this institution received grant funding from Novo Nordisk Inc. KAG previously served as the medical director for the ABOM, has been a paid scientific advisor to Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, receives royalties from the Johns Hopkins ACG System, and received honoraria from PRI-MED and the American College of Cardiology for educational events. MRJ has served as a paid speaker for Northwell Health and consultant to Laekna Therapeutics. MRJ has several active NIH and VA IIR grants. None of these reported conflicts and projects are discussed in this manuscript. ABOM is discussed in this manuscript; no other reported conflicts and projects are discussed in this manuscript. JMN, JLS, CTB, WSY, KAG, and MRJ are ABOM Diplomates.

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