The Obesity Society aims to provide ‘practical guidance’ with new Standards of Care
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Key takeaways:
- The Obesity Society is partnering with other medical societies to develop Standards of Care for obesity.
- The steering committee began meeting in October, with a goal to begin publication in mid- to late-2024.
DALLAS — The Obesity Society is chairing an international steering committee to develop new Standards of Care for obesity medicine, according to a speaker.
During the presidential plenary at ObesityWeek, Jamy Ard, MD, FTOS, president-elect of The Obesity Society, professor in the department of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest School of Medicine, and co-director of the weight management center for Advocate Health Wake Forest Baptist, discussed the need for Standards of Care for obesity and why the organization is pursuing this initiative.
“Our goal for the Standards of Care project is to provide practical guidance to the common clinical questions in obesity management and identify areas for future research to address evidence gaps,” Ard said during the presentation.
Identifying a need
Ard said numerous organizations have published a range of guidelines for obesity care. National guidelines for treating adults with obesity were published in 1998 and 2013 in the U.S. and in Canada in 2020. Additionally, medical societies such as the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology, the American Gastroenterology Association and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery have all published their own sets of guidelines.
There is a need for Standards of Care that takes a step further than previously published guidelines, Ard said. The lack of standards has allowed for the proliferation of low-quality, non-evidence-based obesity care, Ard said, which can lead to confusion regarding what should be reimbursed by insurance for obesity treatment. Additionally, Ard said there is increased demand from patients and clinicians for Standards of Care.
“Guidelines establish a basis for evidence and approach to treatment but may not fully close the gap in terms of point-of-care decision-making that may not be covered by the evidence,” Ard said.
Key objectives
There are several key objectives for the new Standards of Care. The standards will build on current clinical practice guidelines to address common clinical questions on obesity management. The document will provide direct guidance for clinical decision-making and identify evidence gaps for future guidelines to address. Ard said the Standards of Care will also build consensus on obesity management among professional societies.
A steering committee chaired by members of The Obesity Society will develop the standards and oversee the publication of new updates. Other organizations that are a part of the steering committee include the Obesity Medicine Association, Obesity Canada, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the European Association for the Study of Obesity, and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders. An external advisory board will include representatives of professional groups and stakeholders who will provide counsel to the steering committee and nominate people for working groups. Three writing groups comprising multidisciplinary clinicians and scientists will review evidence and create a draft of conclusions and recommendations that will be sent to the steering committee for approval and publication.
Ard said the steering committee began meeting in October and will issue invitations to external advisory board organizations, followed by invitations to the writing groups. Ard said the goal is to start publications of the Standards of Care in mid- to late-2024.
“This will be a living document that is regularly updated and expanded as the evidence continues to grow,” Ard said. “We want to elevate the practice of obesity medicine such that we provide clear guidance [that is] evidence based, and when there is not sufficient evidence, then we give clinicians a leg to stand on in terms of scientifically-guided approaches.”
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Ard J. Raising the standards of care for obesity medicine. Presented at: ObesityWeek; Oct. 14-17, 2023; Dallas.
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