Obesity

Also known as: bariatric · GLP-1 · weight management

Also relevant to PediatricsAlso relevant to Preventive Medicine & Primary Care

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United StatesADA/Endocrine Society/AACE

Current

AACE Consensus Statement: Algorithm for the Evaluation and Treatment of Adults with Obesity/Adiposity-Based Chronic Disease – 2025 Update

American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) · 2025 · 2025 Update

AACE's updated consensus algorithm gives graphic, evidence-summarised guidance for evaluating and treating adults with obesity framed as adiposity-based chronic disease, intended to support shared decision-making.

The update shifts emphasis from weight-centric metrics toward complication-centric, person-centred care focused on metabolic health and quality of life. source
It covers advances in pharmacotherapy and strategies to reduce weight bias, replacing the 2016 AACE obesity algorithm. source

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EuropeEASD/ESE

Current

Framework for the Pharmacological Treatment of Obesity and Its Complications (EASO Obesity Management Algorithm 2.0)

European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) · 2026 · 2026 update

EASO's medication framework helps clinicians match obesity pharmacotherapy to an individual's complications and treatment goals rather than to weight loss alone; version 2.0 was launched in 2026.

The 2026 edition adds a new emphasis on liver disease among the obesity-related complications considered. source
EASO maintains the framework as a living evidence map, with the 2025 edition explicitly superseded by Algorithm 2.0. source

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US vs EU key differences

Terminology has converged: both the AACE algorithm and the EASO framework frame the condition as adiposity-based chronic disease (ABCD) needing long-term individualised care rather than weight loss alone. source
Staging differs: AACE grades the disease in three stages largely independent of BMI — preclinical with no complications, then mild-to-moderate, then at least one severe complication — driving complication-centric medication hierarchies. source
Document scope differs: the AACE consensus statement is an eleven-part algorithm spanning screening, behavioural and lifestyle intervention, step therapy and pharmacotherapy, whereas the EASO document is specifically a pharmacological treatment framework organised by complication domain. source
The EASO framework is designed as a living document refreshed against the trial literature, with the 2026 edition built on 62 randomised controlled trials published through 21 November 2025 and newly extending its liver domain from MASH resolution to fibrosis improvement. source

What changed recently

EU2025 → 2026 update2026-05-13
Algorithm 2.0 refines the 2025 EASO framework using 62 randomised trials with evidence through 21 November 2025, sharpening the head-to-head comparisons of total body weight loss across available drugs. The liver domain was expanded beyond MASH resolution to include improvement in liver fibrosis as a treatment target.
source ↗
US2016 → 2025 Update2025-12-09
The 2025 update to AACE's 2016 obesity guidance moved diagnosis away from BMI alone toward adiposity-based criteria and complication-driven staging, and reframed treatment success around metabolic health and complication resolution rather than weight loss percentage. It also added explicit hierarchies of preferred medications matched to each obesity-related complication, reflecting the arrival of highly effective incretin-based agents.
source ↗curation confidence 90%

See the full update feed for changes across every system.