The ADIPO-CARE Plan: A Comprehensive Implementation Framework for the Diagnosis and Management of People Living with Obesity—Experts’ Proposal
13 affiliations
- 1Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
- 2Department of Internal Diseases and Cardiac Rehabilitation, Medical University of Lodz, 90-419 Lodz, Poland
- 3Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
- 4Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial Centre for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- 5Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston Salem, NC 27157, USA
- 6Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
- 7Liverpool Centre for Cardiovascular Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UK
- 8Department of Clinical Medicine, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
- 9Department of Cardiology, Lipidology and Internal Medicine with Intensive Coronary Care Unit, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland
- 10Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
- 11Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
- 12Department of Hypertension and Diabetology, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
- 13Department of Endocrinology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Ceglowska 8-, 01-813 Warsaw, Poland
Abstract
Obesity is a chronic, recurrent, and heterogeneous disease whose effective treatment requires an approach that goes beyond assessment of body mass index and short-term weight loss. Contemporary management should integrate assessment of adipose tissue distribution and function, obesity phenotype, complications, and cardiometabolic risk with individualized nutritional, behavioral, pharmacological, and—if appropriate—surgical interventions. This paper presents the ADIPO–CARE Plan, a practical, structured model for the comprehensive assessment and long-term treatment of people living with obesity. The model comprises two interconnected stages. The ADIPO defines a comprehensive clinical assessment process: A—Assess adiposity, which includes assessing the degree and distribution of excess adipose tissue; D—Define obesity phenotype, which aims to identify the clinical phenotype of obesity; I—Identify complications, which includes detecting obesity-related diseases and complications; P—Profile cardiometabolic risk, which serves to determine global cardiometabolic risk and disease severity; and O—Overall treatment goals, defining individual, realistic therapeutic goals that go beyond weight loss. The second phase, CARE, organizes the treatment and long-term follow-up strategy: C—Comprehensive lifestyle intervention, with particular emphasis on nutritional therapy, physical activity, behavioral interventions, and lifestyle modifications; A—Anti-obesity pharmacotherapy, encompassing the rational use of pharmacotherapy as a complement to lifestyle interventions; R—Response-guided treatment optimization, involving systematic assessment of response and intensification or modification of therapy; and E—Evaluate long-term effectiveness, focusing on maintenance of effects, safety, adherence, relapse prevention, and long-term disease control. The ADIPO–CARE Plan proposes a shift from an approach focused primarily on body weight to a model focused on phenotype, risks, complications, and long-term health benefits. This framework can facilitate the systematization of clinical decisions and the integration of nutritional therapy with other elements of modern, personalized obesity therapy.
Related
- Cirrhotic cardiomyopathy: A comprehensive review of pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management.
- Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pediatric fecal incontinence: A comprehensive review and treatment algorithm
- Operationalising a Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre in a Tertiary NICU in North India: A Retrospective Implementation Study With Before-After Comparison of Breastfeeding and Counselling Coverage
- Focused ethnography protocol for exploring burn pain management practices in clinical settings: methodological considerations and implementation framework.
- Understanding Chronic Hip Pain Through the ICF Framework: Implications for Assessment, Diagnosis, and Management
BibTeX
@article{surma2026adipocare,
title = {{The ADIPO-CARE Plan: A Comprehensive Implementation Framework for the Diagnosis and Management of People Living with Obesity—Experts’ Proposal}},
author = {Stanisław Surma and Marcin Barylski and Deepak L. Bhatt and Kausik K. Ray and Michael D. Shapiro and Giuseppe Mancia and Gregory Y. H. Lip and Claudio Borghi and Roland E. Schmieder and Krzysztof Narkiewicz and Alina Kuryłowicz},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213662},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3662},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The ADIPO-CARE Plan: A Comprehensive Implementation Framework for the Diagnosis and Management of People Living with Obesity—Experts’ Proposal
AU - Stanisław Surma
AU - Marcin Barylski
AU - Deepak L. Bhatt
AU - Kausik K. Ray
AU - Michael D. Shapiro
AU - Giuseppe Mancia
AU - Gregory Y. H. Lip
AU - Claudio Borghi
AU - Roland E. Schmieder
AU - Krzysztof Narkiewicz
AU - Alina Kuryłowicz
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213662
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3662
AB - Obesity is a chronic, recurrent, and heterogeneous disease whose effective treatment requires an approach that goes beyond assessment of body mass index and short-term weight loss. Contemporary management should integrate assessment of adipose tissue distribution and function, obesity phenotype, complications, and cardiometabolic risk with individualized nutritional, behavioral, pharmacological, and—if appropriate—surgical interventions. This paper presents the ADIPO–CARE Plan, a practical, structured model for the comprehensive assessment and long-term treatment of people living with obesity. The model comprises two interconnected stages. The ADIPO defines a comprehensive clinical assessment process: A—Assess adiposity, which includes assessing the degree and distribution of excess adipose tissue; D—Define obesity phenotype, which aims to identify the clinical phenotype of obesity; I—Identify complications, which includes detecting obesity-related diseases and complications; P—Profile cardiometabolic risk, which serves to determine global cardiometabolic risk and disease severity; and O—Overall treatment goals, defining individual, realistic therapeutic goals that go beyond weight loss. The second phase, CARE, organizes the treatment and long-term follow-up strategy: C—Comprehensive lifestyle intervention, with particular emphasis on nutritional therapy, physical activity, behavioral interventions, and lifestyle modifications; A—Anti-obesity pharmacotherapy, encompassing the rational use of pharmacotherapy as a complement to lifestyle interventions; R—Response-guided treatment optimization, involving systematic assessment of response and intensification or modification of therapy; and E—Evaluate long-term effectiveness, focusing on maintenance of effects, safety, adherence, relapse prevention, and long-term disease control. The ADIPO–CARE Plan proposes a shift from an approach focused primarily on body weight to a model focused on phenotype, risks, complications, and long-term health benefits. This framework can facilitate the systematization of clinical decisions and the integration of nutritional therapy with other elements of modern, personalized obesity therapy.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -