ADA Standards of Care for Overweight and Obesity to Debut at 2025 Scientific Sessions

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) will announce and highlight the organization's first Standards of Care for Overweight and Obesity during a session on Friday at the 85th Scientific Sessions on June 20. The first 2 chapters have been released (Introduction and Methodology, Weight Stigma and Bias), according to an announcement from the ADA, and additional sections are scheduled for release throughout the year.1

Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MBA

The guidelines will be a strong addition to evidence-based recommendations from other obesity medicine-focused organizations that were represented on the Standards of Care including the American Board of Obesity Medicine Foundation, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Obesity Action Coalition, Obesity Medicine Association, and The Obesity Society.2

The intended audience for the new Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity includes all members of the obesity care team, eg, primary care clinicians, obesity medicine specialists, endocrinologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants/physician associates, pharmacists, registered dietitian nutritionists, and behavioral health professionals, the authors state. The Standards will also provide guidance to specialists who care for individuals with overweight or obesity and complications of the disease as well as payers and policy makers, researchers and advocacy groups.2

The timing of publication of the new standards reflects the medical community's evolving understanding of obesity as a chronic condition requiring comprehensive treatment approaches. "It has taken the medical world a long time to accept that obesity is a chronic disease," Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, MACP, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said in an ADA statement.1 "It was just in 2012 that the American Medical Association acknowledged obesity as a chronic disease, so the idea that the ADA is just devising standards of care is unsurprising."1

Stanford will address a particularly challenging aspect of obesity care during the Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity 2025 Updates session on Friday: weight stigma and bias within healthcare settings, a core focus of that chapter of the guideline.3 The ability and willingness of medical professionals to appreciate the danger to patients encoded in weight bias is crucial at this precarious time in US public health, Stanford will stress, given that three-quarters of Americans struggle with excessive body fat in the face of this type of discrimination.1

The scope of healthcare bias is staggering, Stanford said. "Up to 70% of physicians have a weight bias for patients, and the number of nurses is not far behind, [at] 55%. As for other health care professionals, be it dietitians, physical therapists, etc, bias is also prevalent, setting up individual patients for poor health outcomes."1

Therapeutic Options Multiply

Despite the challenges, the ADA points to the rapidly shifting landscape of obesity treatment. Lifestyle interventions that target dietary modification, increased physical activity and psychosocial wellness will remain the foundation of weight management, but the proliferation of therapeutic options in the past 20 years offers the potential for truly individualized medicine. Clinicians have access to an expanding selection of evidence-based interventions, including pharmacotherapy, metabolic and bariatric surgical procedures, and various endoscopic treatments.

Louis J Aronne, MD

Louis J. Aronne, MD, the Sanford I. Weill Professor of Metabolic Research at the Weil Cornell Medicine Comprehensive Weight Control Center and widely recognized for his early and landmark research into glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, will present on this and on other evolving classes of antiobesity medications during Friday's session.1

"Over the last couple of years, there has been so much attention around the GLP-1 receptor agonists and related medications," Kimberly Gudzune, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer for the American Board of Medicine (ABOM) Foundation, said in the ADA statement. "That has brought increased attention to the reality of obesity treatment being possible."1

The barriers to successful implementation of the resources available, however, include inadequate professional education. Traditionally, little time has been devoted during training for physicians, nurses, and other health care providers to obesity management, a legacy that continues to impact current practice.1

While medical education is beginning to incorporate more comprehensive obesity training, Gudzune points out that the current number of specialists remains insufficient. Approximately 10,000 physicians hold board certification in obesity medicine across North America.1

In the context of primary care, the path forward may not require immediate specialization in obesity medicine, but it does demand engagement. "We need to empower health care professionals to begin talking with their patients about obesity," Gudzune said. "Even if they are not yet ready to initiate treatment themselves, they should be comfortable with that discussion. To begin that conversation would be an amazing first step."

The American Diabetes Association's 85th Scientific Sessions continues through June 24, 2025, at McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

References

1. Symposium to highlight first ADA Standards of Care for Overweight and Obesity. News release. American Diabetes Association. June 20, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.adameetingnews.org/symposium-to-highlight-first-ada-standards-of-care-for-overweight-and-obesity/

2. Bannuru RR, ADA Professional Practice Committee. Introduction and methodology: Standards of care in overweight and obesity--2025. BMJ Open Diab Res Care. 2025:e004928.

3. Bannuru RR, ADA Professional Practice Committee. Weight stigma and bias: standards of care in overweight and obesity—2025. ;13:e004962. BMJ Open Diab Res Care. 2025:e004928. doi:10.1136/bmjdrc-2025-004962