{"id":40177,"date":"2023-12-14T14:50:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=40177"},"modified":"2023-12-14T14:54:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T14:54:41","slug":"unlocking-the-predictors-of-obesity-treatment-and-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/unlocking-the-predictors-of-obesity-treatment-and-risk\/40177\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlocking the predictors of obesity treatment and risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
What do we know about obesity? Obesity currently affects 150 million people in Europe and 650 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).1<\/sup> This number has been steadily rising, surpassing the WHO\u2019s global targets and increasing the risk of associated health concerns such as type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, liver disease and increased cardiometabolic and cancer risk.2\u20134 <\/sup><\/p>\n Achieving better health outcomes requires new knowledge and understanding of the biological underpinnings of obesity. By analysing data from large-scale cohorts and conducting in-depth qualitative studies of those living with obesity, the SOPHIA project aims to predict complications, target treatments better, and change the narrative around obesity to make it more equitable and patient centric.<\/p>\n Professor Carel le Roux, co-ordinator of SOPHIA and obesity physician at the Diabetes Complications Research Centre at University College Dublin, said: \u201cOur mission within SOPHIA is to enable healthcare professionals to reliably predict the complications of obesity and who will respond to treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n The SOPHIA project (Stratification of Obesity Phenotypes to Optimise Future Obesity Therapy) is a public-private partnership funded by the Innovative Health Initiative (IMI) in collaboration with the European Commission. The SOPHIA project is part of a momentum shift in the study of obesity.<\/p>\n It brings together partners from industry, academia, and patient and public organisations to provide better tools for the stratification of people with obesity according to disease risk and treatment response and to meet the needs of future healthcare systems.<\/p>\n When examining two patients with the same body mass index (BMI) and adiposity distribution, one may have type 2 diabetes while the other may have no metabolic complications but significant functional impairment. Moreover, one may respond extremely well to bariatric surgery, while the second may not.<\/p>\n Daniel Coral of the Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden, said: \u201cWe (used to) think of the relationship between obesity and type two diabetes as always increasing simultaneously. What has been shown is that a lot of individuals don\u2019t have the metabolic risk for their given BMI, including the risk of type 2 diabetes.\u201d<\/p>\n By diagnosing and treating well-defined subpopulations of obesity, we can achieve a greater benefit with fewer side effects and lower costs to healthcare systems.5<\/sup> The work within the SOPHIA project is taking us closer to defining who will experience adverse complications \u2013 and who might respond best to specific interventions.<\/p>\n Patients are currently defined by BMI or waist measurement \u2013 based on current clinical and regulatory guidelines \u2013 which leads to obesity subtypes being treated as if they were identical. Using better-defined subpopulations, we will be able to select participants who are likely to progress most rapidly through the disease process or who are likely to respond well to the targeted intervention.<\/p>\n We must move past the \u2018one size fits all\u2019 approach, as this has not yielded the desired results. Throughout our work, it has become clear that stakeholders share many of the same concerns and barriers to adopting innovative solutions to obesity management across healthcare systems. It is also clear that there is a lack of clarity for specific terminology in the language of obesity as a chronic disease.<\/p>\n Our work with patients, healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, industry and payers (social insurers) across 18 nationalities has found consensus for statements that refer to obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease with many root causes as well as factors that affect its progression, including genetic, environmental, and (epi)genetic factors.6<\/sup><\/p>\n In March 2021, the European Commission issued a brief defining obesity as a \u2018chronic relapsing disease, which in turn acts as a gateway to a range of other non-communicable diseases.\u2019 This was largely thanks to the advocacy work in SOPHIA and our work with the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO).<\/p>\n \u201cA number of gaps to implementation are now very clear,\u201d said Jacqueline Bowman-Busato, SOPHIA partner and EU Policy Lead at EASO, \u201cmuch remains to be done to design and deliver meaningful national plans for the prevention, management and long-term treatment of obesity.\u201d<\/p>\n There are many discrete subpopulations of people with different types of obesity.8<\/sup> Defining these subtypes through phenotyping is a major step forward in understanding obesity. It is, however, possible that there are subclusters within each cluster. In short, the work is just beginning.<\/p>\n In contrast to being considered a risk factor for other diseases or a failure of self-control, obesity is more likely itself a set of chronic, complex diseases.7<\/sup> The work of the SOPHIA project within this field is to remove the stigmatising declaration to \u2018eat less and move more\u2019 and advance the growing body of evidence finding that obesity is the result of a complex pathogenesis with a biological basis.<\/p>\n Although the health risks associated with obesity have been well documented, it is equally important to include perspectives from those who live with this complex and chronic disease. The association between excess adiposity and increased impairment in activities of daily living shows the need for research that includes the patient experience.8<\/sup><\/p>\n Historically, patients were positioned passively on the receiving end of healthcare and policy.9<\/sup> A systematic review and synthesis by SOPHIA researchers highlighted several studies where stigma and negative treatment were perpetuated by healthcare providers, particularly regarding the stigma around weight loss surgery, which was seen by some as \u2018taking the easy way out.\u2019 Unsurprisingly, we also see a lack of understanding regarding obesity as a disease, available treatment pathways and a strong sense of personal responsibility.10<\/sup><\/p>\n Hilary Craig of the University College Dublin in Ireland, said: \u201cUnderstanding patient preferences for patients with obesity complications may impact treatment planning to make interventions more effective. This may improve patient engagement in treatment adherences and can reduce costs as patients become more compliant with treatment.\u201d<\/p>\nNot everybody has the same risk for a given BMI<\/h3>\n
Changing the narrative \u2013 beyond BMI<\/h3>\n
Obesity as a set of chronic, complex diseases<\/h3>\n
Including the patient voice<\/h3>\n