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Updated: Oct 26, 2025
Multidisciplinary Approach to Obesity Management: A Case Report
Published on: May 30, 2025
Management of Obesity in Cardiovascular Practice: JACC Focus Seminar
Jean-Pierre Després1, André C Carpentier2, André Tchernof3
1VITAM-Centre de recherche en santé durable, CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Québec, Québec, Canada; Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada; Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada.
Insights
Obesity reduces life expectancy by increasing risks for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Recognizing obesity as heterogeneous, not monolithic, is key to effective management and improved health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Public Health
- Cardiology
Background:
- Obesity is a significant contributor to reduced life expectancy, primarily through its strong association with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
- Despite its impact, obesity is often poorly diagnosed, ill-defined, and inadequately addressed as a modifiable risk factor in healthcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- This review emphasizes the need to move beyond viewing obesity as a single entity.
- It aims to highlight the heterogeneity of obesity in terms of its causes and health consequences.
- The purpose is to guide more effective clinical and population-based strategies by differentiating patient subgroups.
Main Methods:
- This is a review article, synthesizing existing literature and clinical observations.
- It focuses on differentiating patient profiles within the spectrum of obesity.
- The approach involves analyzing the distinct health issues associated with different obesity severities and fat distribution patterns.
Main Results:
- Obesity is a heterogeneous condition, not a uniform disease.
- Two key subgroups requiring distinct approaches are identified: individuals with excess visceral adipose tissue and those with severe obesity.
- Severe obesity presents unique health challenges directly linked to excessive body fat mass.
Conclusions:
- Treating all obesity as a single condition hinders effective management and contributes to discrepancies in care.
- Personalized clinical approaches and population-based strategies are necessary to tackle high-cardiovascular-risk obesity.
- The obesogenic environment and economy present significant compounding challenges to obesity management.
Abstract:
Obesity contributes to reduced life expectancy because of its link with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Yet, targeting this poorly diagnosed, ill-defined, and underaddressed modifiable risk factor remains a challenge. In this review, we emphasize that the tendency among health care professionals to amalgam all forms of obesity altogether as a single entity may contribute to such difficulties and discrepancies. Obesity is a heterogeneous condition both in terms of causes and health consequences. Attention should be given to 2 prevalent subgroups of individuals: 1) patients who are overweight or moderately obese with excess visceral adipose tissue; and 2) patients with severe obesity, the latter group having distinct additional health issues related to their large body fat mass. The challenge of tackling high-cardiovascular-risk forms of obesity through a combination of personalized clinical approaches and population-based solutions is compounded by the current obesogenic environment and economy.
