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. 2025 Sep;122(3):866-885.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.06.015. Epub 2025 Jun 21.

Novel strategies for medical management of obesity: mechanisms, clinical implications, and societal impacts-a report from the 25th Annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium

Gitanjali Srivastava  1 , Sophia L Campbell  2 , Conner R Hill  2 , Takara L Stanley  2 , Elizabeth A Lawson  3 , Caroline M Apovian  4 , Jaime P Almandoz  5 , Lorenzo Leggio  6 , Darius N Lakdawalla  7 , Mohammad Dar  8 , Carmela Socolovsky  9 , Fatima Cody Stanford  10 , Sarah Armstrong  11 , Steven K Grinspoon  2
Affiliations

Novel strategies for medical management of obesity: mechanisms, clinical implications, and societal impacts-a report from the 25th Annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium

Gitanjali Srivastava et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease with a multifactorial etiology. Over the past 5 y, obesity medicine has entered a new era with the advent of novel, game-changing pharmacotherapies that achieve weight loss exceeding 15%-20%. Beyond weight loss, these powerful therapies offer additional benefits, such as cardiovascular improvements. These novel agents, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, work by reducing appetite, slowing gastric emptying, and increasing feelings of fullness. Recent work also points out the potential role of these medications for other medical conditions, including addictive and neurodegenerative disorders. In June 2024, the National Institutes of Health-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard and the Harvard Medical School Division of Nutrition hosted their 25th annual Harvard Nutrition Obesity Symposium, titled "Novel Strategies for Medical Management of Obesity: Mechanisms, Clinical Implications, and Societal Impacts." This paper synthesizes the symposium's discussions, emphasizing the importance of innovative pharmacotherapeutic strategies in addressing the burden of obesity and the associated economic and social inequities, including disparities in access to care in adults and children.

Keywords: addiction; glucagon-like peptide-1; glucagon-like reptide-1 receptor agonist; medicare; nutrition; obesity; type 2 diabetes; weight loss.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest GS reports advisory fees from Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, and Rhythm; Speaker’s Bureau for Rhythm and Novo Nordisk and research grant support from Eli Lilly. TLS received grant funding to her institution from Pfizer, Inc. for serving as site-PI of an industry-sponsored study. EAL received financial support and study drug from Tonix Pharmaceuticals for investigator-initiated research studies; and received royalties from UpToDate. In addition, she is an inventor on United States. provisional patent application no. 63/467,980: Oxytocin-Based Therapeutics to Improve Cognitive Control in Individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. EAL and/or immediate family member holds stock in Thermo Fisher Scientific, Zoetis, Danaher Corporation, Intuitive Surgical, Merck and West Pharmaceutical Services. CMA reports participating on advisory boards for Altimmune, Inc., BioAge, Bioinq,CinFina Pharma, Inc., Cowen and Company, LLC, EPG Communication Holdings Ltd., Form Health, Inc., Fractyl Health, Inc., Gelesis, Srl., Lilly USA, LLC, L-Nutra, Inc., NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Nutrisystem, OptumRx, Inc., Pain Script Corporation, Palatin Technologies, Inc., Pursuit By You, Redesign Health Inc., ReShape Lifesciences Inc., Riverview School, Roman Health, Vida Ventures Inc., Veru Inc., Wave Life Sciences and Xeno Biosciences. CMA also reports receiving research funding from the NIH, PCORI and GI Dynamics, Inc. JPA reports serving on advisory boards and consulting with Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Eli Lilly and Company. LL is a United States federal employee at the NIH and is supported by the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP; NIDA/NIAAA). Outside LL’s federal employment, he reports honoraria from the UK Medical Council on Alcohol (Editor-in-Chief for Alcohol and Alcoholism) and book royalties from Routledge. DNL reports over the last 3 y speaker fees, travel assistance, or consulting income from the following sources: Amgen, Genentech, Gilead, GRAIL, Mylan, Novartis, Otsuka, Perrigo, Pfizer, and Sorrento Therapeutics. DNL also owns equity in Precision Medicine Group, for which he previously served as a consultant. DNL is also Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of EntityRisk, Inc., which develops software and analytic tools for use by healthcare firms. MD and CS have no disclosures to report. FCS reports financial support provided by the NIH and funding grants provided by Amazon. FCS reports a relationship that includes consulting and advisory for the following: Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Gelesis, Doximity, GoodRx, and Currax Pharmaceuticals. SA reports serving as the chair for the American Academy of Pediatrics and leads a section on obesity. SA also reports serving as a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Institute for a Healthy Childhood Weight. SKG reports grant support through his institution from NIH, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., and ViiV Healthcare for the conduct of the study; personal fees from Theratechnologies and ViiV; and service on the Scientific Advisory Board of Marathon Asset Management, all outside the submitted work.

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