Why modeling obesity trajectories is key to the mission of SOPHIA

Understanding different obesity trajectories and their impact on health: Insights from SOPHIA principal investigators

Is it possible to generate data and tools that ensure better treatment for those who experience obesity?

Principal Investigators of a SOPHIA Working Group on obesity trajectories shared their insights on how modeling these trajectories may assist in risk prediction – and ultimately pave the way for better and more personalized treatment.

Obesity is complex, and trajectories are unique

Principal investigator, Ewan Pearson from University of Dundee, explains the importance of weight trajectories in obesity research and care:

“We should not just consider the patient’s weight at a specific moment in time. We must look at weight over time. Bringing prior trajectories of weight into risk prediction allows for a better understanding of the dynamic which may ensure better treatment and outcome for the individual patients.”

This critical work in SOPHIA is focused on understanding obesity trajectories – through natural history, lifestyle, and pharmaceutical interventions with people both with and without diabetes. By identifying these unique trajectories, the work group hopes to gain insights into the characteristics that define individual trajectories and identify how this can be used to aid prognosis and predict future outcomes.

Impacting healthcare pathways for better risk prediction

A key finding is that everyone has their own individual weight trajectory, and that obesity should be treated and managed accordingly – the better we become at modelling and predicting, the better we can be at guiding patients.

This Working Group emphasizes the rewarding connection to the SOPHIA partners in reaching the project’s objectives. The combined analysis across industry, academia, and patient organizations is critical to reach the ambitious mission of SOPHIA: to enable healthcare professionals to reliably predict the complications of obesity and who will respond to treatment.

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).