Introduction and methodology: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2025

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, and progressive disease requiring long-term, interprofessional treatment strategies to improve health outcomes. With over 40% of US adults and nearly 20% of children affected, obesity remains a significant public health concern. Despite the American Medical Association's recognition of obesity as a chronic disease, gaps persist in education, training, and access to effective treatments. These gaps contribute to inadequate obesity management and reinforce stigma and weight bias in healthcare settings.The Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity-2025, developed by The Obesity Association^TM, a division of the American Diabetes Association^(R), (ADA's Obesity Association), will provide evidence-based recommendations for screening, diagnosis, and management of obesity and related complications. These guidelines will emphasize a complication-centric, risk-reduction approach rather than solely focusing on weight loss. The recommendations will be intended for healthcare professionals, including but not limited to primary care physicians, endocrinologists, obesity medicine physicians, dietitians, and behavioral health specialists, as well as policymakers and insurers.The guideline development will follow a rigorous methodology, incorporating evidence from systematic literature reviews, expert consensus, and public feedback. Recommendations will be graded based on the quality and certainity of supporting evidence, with the goal of annual updates to ensure alignment with the latest research. A stringent conflict-of-interest policy will be maintained to uphold guideline integrity.By promoting personalized and equitable obesity care, these guidelines will aim to bridge existing gaps in clinical practice, enhance treatment accessibility, and improve long-term health outcomes for individuals with overweight or obesity.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome; obesity; overweight; standard of care.