The “Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obesity (2024 Edition)” was formulated by the National Health Commission in cooperation with multidisciplinary experts nationwide, and was formally released on October 17, 2024. As China’s first authoritative guideline for obesity, it comprehensively covers the etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, classification, staging, and related diseases of obesity. The guideline emphasizes the high risk of obesity-related diseases, and for the first time puts forward a standardized diagnosis and treatment pathway, sorting out various treatment options including lifestyle interventions, pharmacotherapy, metabolic/bariatric procedures, and traditional Chinese medicine treatments. At the same time, the guideline advocates the multi-disciplinary treatment model, which integrates expertise and methodologies from various disciplines to develop personalized treatments for patients. We interpreted and discussed the diagnostic assessment and multimodal management of obesity, so as to enhance readers’ understanding of the guideline and promote the standardization of evidence-based practices in obesity care.
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease driven by multiple factors such as genetic susceptibility, environmental factors, and neuroendocrine system disorders. In recent years, the prevalence of obesity in China has been increasing year by year, and a series of obesity-induced diseases are a serious threat to public health. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, as a representative of the new weight loss drugs, have shown a therapeutic effect close to that of weight-loss metabolic surgery in clinical trials by targeting central appetite and metabolism and other synergistic effects, but they still face key problems such as significant differences in individual efficacy, limited evidence of the safety of long-term treatment, and regaining body weight after discontinuation of the drug. The mechanism of action and clinical evidence of several obesity drugs approved and listed in China are summarized, and the progress and challenges of obesity drug therapy in China in combination with recent advances in the development of multi-target agents internationally are discussed, with a view to providing a scientific basis for the clinical drug management of obesity and providing ideas for the research and development of obesity drugs in China as well as for the clinical transformation.