The number of people around the world living with overweight or obesity in 2035 is expected to be over 4 billion, and increasing the risk of associated health concerns such as type 2 diabetes, gallbladder disease, liver disease and increased cardiometabolic and cancer risk^1-4. This global healthcare challenge is one that cannot be solved alone, and one that we are discussing today on, World Obesity Day.

“We need a societal change – looking at the science of the disease to provide not just prevention, but also chronic treatment and management programmes,” says SOPHIA coordinator and Professor of Chemical Pathology at University College Dublin, Carel Le Roux.

Obesity and data

“We’re achieving a better understanding of obesity as a chronic disease by dissecting the complexities and analyzing large-scale data across industry and academia,” says Thomas Sparsø, Lead Data scientist and SOPHIA researcher at Novo Nordisk.

The theme for World Obesity Day 2024 is ‘Let’s Talk About Obesity and…’. From biology and society to youth and complications, we are showing how all sectors are connected and how every sector has an important role in transforming obesity care.

“Real-world data indicate a large heterogeneity of responses to lifestyle intervention – this highlights the need for individualized, patient-centric, ongoing treatment strategies, starting early-on⁵,” says PhD researcher Nicole Prinz from the University of Ulm, Institute of Epidemiology and Medical Biometry.

Obesity and empowerment

“Our objective is to empower healthcare professionals, citizens, and community leaders with innovative tools to prevent obesity risks and support people across all life stages, cultivating informed and healthy communities,” says Yenny Leal, Project Manager and Bioengineer, UDENTG, Institut d’investigació Biomèdica de Girona Doctor Josep Trueta IDIBGI.

This is a chance to recognise the importance of working together and including a range of perspectives to positively impact healthcare. From individuals living with obesity and researching its outcomes to those in healthcare and policy sectors – we are here to listen, support and advocate towards our collective goal of more personalized and patient centric care.

“Understanding preferences by those living with obesity complications may impact treatment planning, improve engagement, and reduce costs to make interventions more effective,” says Hilary Craig, PhD Researcher in the School of Medicine at University College Dublin.

Obesity and Public-Private Partnerships

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. 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.

The field of obesity has never evolved this quickly, and our approach to obesity needs to change. We need to work together to chart potential pathways at the intersection of improved patient care, more effective interventions, and reduced societal burden.

Our future vision is that individuals can be prioritised based on specific obesity and the associated potential for risk and health impact. Subsequently, they can be given targeted interventions to prevent or reverse their disease burden. This will take us one step closer to identifying the right treatment for the right patient at the right time – and transform the approach to obesity care and management worldwide.

See more about World Obesity Day on the official website here.

¹The Economic Impact of Overweight & Obesity in 2020 and 2060 (World Obesity Federation & RTI International, 2022)

²Longo M, Zatterale F, Naderi J, Parrillo L, Formisano P, Raciti GA, et al. Adipose Tissue Dysfunction as Determinant of Obesity-Associated Metabolic Complications. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 May 1 [cited 2023 Oct 22];20(9).

³Aune D, Norat T, Vatten LJ. Body mass index, abdominal fatness and the risk of gallbladder disease. Eur J Epidemiol. 2015 Sep 30 [cited 2023 Oct 22];30(9):1009–19.

⁴Abdullah A, Peeters A, de Courten M, Stoelwinder J. The magnitude of association between overweight and obesity and the risk of diabetes: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2010 Sep 1 [cited 2023 Oct 22];89(3):309–19.

⁵Prinz N et al. Obesity 2023; 31(9): 2375-2385

What if we could use the patient’s own perspectives and motivations surrounding obesity to help improve their health outcomes?

Ascertaining the Patients’ perspectives is a crucial part of understanding the impact of their obesity on them and can inform us as to how best to provide care for those affected by the disease. A recent SOPHIA publication highlights the importance of patient voices in obesity research. The study found that many patients with obesity complications do not feel heard by their primary healthcare providers, and they feel that they lack the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about their treatment options. Additionally, they reported that they would like to have a closer interaction with their healthcare professionals to facilitate an in-depth discussion of their options to treat this complex disease.

Access and cost are prohibiting the best obesity care for patients

One of the main findings of the study was the identification of access to and costs of treatment options as key influencers on a patient’s choice of treatment. Corresponding author, Hilary C. Craig, explains:

“Respondents in this study highlighted access, cost and a lack of knowledge as key factors that influence their decisions on obesity treatment.  In addition, they reported the fear of side effects of treatments as well as a perception of not being heard by health care professionals as key influences in their decisions. Future solutions may include HCPs creating educational programmes and information platforms for patients to improve health literacy about the complexities of obesity and its complications as well as  the expansion of obesity treatment options–with proven health economic benefits–to ensure equitable, society-wide access to disease management and support.”

How we resolve the lack of knowledge: Using the patient voice to achieve better understanding

The SOPHIA partnership aims to address these challenges by putting the patient voice at the center; an approach that has, thus far, been rare in obesity research. Patient-centric care is about putting the patient at the centre of decisions about their care, educating them on their options, allaying their fears and ensuring equitable access to appropriate healthcare. Hilary C. Craig elaborates:

“The SOPHIA research project demonstrates the value of patient centered care which is something that is lacking for people with obesity. The project enables patients to contribute, helping us to understand any factors limiting their attempts at managing their health, allows HCPs to identify any concerns they have regarding their disease and associated treatment and gives the HCPs the opportunity to discuss each patient’s case with them in detail.”

A better understanding of patient preferences may impact on treatment planning, make interventions more effective and reduce costs, ultimately creating better healthcare pathways for patients.

Are you curious about the patients’ perspective on obesity care?

Read the SOPHIA publication online here: Patient perspectives about treatment preferences for obesity with complications, or find the complete PDF via this link.

SOPHIA has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiatives in 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No. 875534. This Joint Undertaking support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and EFPIA – European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, T1D Exchange, JDRF International, and Obesity Action Coalition through the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI).

SOPHIA congratulates the recently launched IHI Public-Private Partnership iCARE4CVD for making an impressive start!

The SOPHIA consortium wants to extend a big congratulation to all iCARE4CVD members. We are thrilled to see the progress that this critical project is making within the cardiovascular disease area, and excited to follow their innovative research on mapping and predicting disease trajectories with key biomarkers.

SOPHIA representatives participated in the great kick-off in Copenhagen, and we were delighted to see that so many of our project partners and objectives overlap.

SOPHIA to maximize the synergies with iCARE4CVD

With opportunities for data sharing, data integration, and new findings from the iCARE4CVD consortium, we will be able to generate new insights about the connection between obesity and cardiovascular disease. Going forward, we hope to maximize these synergies with the iCARE4CVD database, providing broader opportunities for analysis and new findings. This will not only benefit the important work of SOPHIA – the data sharing will help us develop better healthcare pathways, ultimately ensuring better patient outcomes.

Do you want to know more about iCARE4CVD, and how they aim to personalise treatment for cardiovascular diseases?

Visit their website here, where you can also find links to all relevant social media accounts.

SOPHIA has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiatives in 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No. 875534. This Joint Undertaking support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and EFPIA – European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, T1D Exchange, JDRF International, and Obesity Action Coalition through the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI).

Obesity now affects 650 million people worldwide and is a significant global health concern. A new publication from the SOPHIA project emphasizes just how important this change in the approach to obesity will be for improving patient outcomes.

Changing the approach to obesity therapy

The recent article published in Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology reviews the current aims in research and addresses the accelerated advancement in obesity perception and management.

So far, the treatment of obesity has been inadequate. Due to insufficient data on clustering the complex set of diseases, as well as lacking medical solutions, an unmet medical need remains among people living with obesity. Particularly as obesity increases the risk of comorbidities such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, a change is needed in how we approach obesity treatment.

Closing the gap in obesity care

The article once again highlights that there is no one size fits all when it comes to obesity treatment. Partnerships between academia, industry, and patient organizations are needed to minimize the existing gap in obesity care. This is a testament to the importance of the work carried out by the IMI SOPHIA partners, who are committed to continue the journey of generating major innovations in the obesity space.

As this paper underlines, there is currently a common perception by patients, clinicians, payers and industry that “obesity is a behavioral responsibility requiring willpower alone rather than allowing chronic disease management of the disease.” This perception has established a stigma around obesity that this publication – and the IMI SOPHIA project – aim to resolve.

Why the narrative around obesity matters

This publication highlights that obesity is not just one disease, but rather a cluster of complex diseases and that treating these underlying diseases may lead to better results for individual patients and society. Addressing the evident unmet medical need requires an overarching change in the approach to treatment. This also entails a change in the narrative around obesity from all parties, which ultimately will lead to better healthcare for people living with obesity. This leads us to the question of: how we create this critical narrative shift?

How to fundamentally change obesity perceptions and treatment

Do you want to take a deep dive in the evidence supporting the work of IMI SOPHIA, and understand why a change in the narrative will make a difference on a global scale? Read the article published in Expert Review of Gastroenterology & Hepatology here and learn more about the complexity of obesity therapy.

SOPHIA has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No. 875534. This Joint Undertaking support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and EFPIA and T1D Exchange, JDRF, and Obesity Action Coalition

The 28th of April 2022 we had the pleasure to host our 2nd yearly SOPHIA General Aseembly meeting at Favrholm Campus in Denmark. The video will show a recap of a fantastic day.