The Potential Role of Digital Health in Obesity Care.

Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial, chronic condition which increases the risk of a wide range of diseases including type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The prevalence of obesity continues to rise and this places a huge economic burden on the healthcare system. Existing approaches to obesity treatment tend to focus on individual responsibility and diet and exercise, failing to recognise the complexity of the condition and the need for a whole-system approach. A new approach is needed that recognises the complexity of obesity and provides patient-centred, multidisciplinary care which more closely meets the needs of each individual with obesity. This review will discuss the role that digital health could play in this new approach and the challenges of ensuring equitable access to digital health for obesity care. Existing technologies, such as telehealth and mobile health apps and wearable devices, offer emerging opportunities to improve access to obesity care and enhance the quality, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of weight management interventions and long-term patient support. Future application of machine learning and artificial intelligence to obesity care could see interventions become increasingly automated and personalised.

Recommendations from a Working Group on Obesity Care Competencies for Healthcare Education in the UK: A Report by the Steering Committee.

INTRODUCTION: Obesity significantly increases the risk of developing (or worsening) more than 200 chronic diseases, and it is also a risk factor for severe COVID-19. With the rising prevalence of obesity in the UK, there is a need to develop obesity care competencies that apply to healthcare professionals (HCPs) at all levels of the health service, to increase the capacity for contemporary, evidence-based treatment that is effective, compassionate, and avoids stigmatising patients. METHODS: A UK Obesity Care Competencies Working Group consisting of experts by profession and experts by experience was created to provide a framework of obesity care competencies for HCPs involved in specialist obesity care (tiers 2-4 in the UK). The framework was adapted from a set of competencies recently published by the USA-based Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative (OMEC) and was intended to be adaptable to nurses and allied health professionals, as well as physicians, owing to the multidisciplinary team approach used in healthcare in the UK. RESULTS: The UK Obesity Care Competencies Working Group developed a set of 29 competencies, divided into five focal areas, namely obesity knowledge, patient care and procedural skills, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism and interpersonal communication skills, and systems-based practice. The working group recommends that the obesity care competencies are targeted at HCPs training as specialists. The competencies could be imported into existing training programmes to help standardise obesity-related medical education and could also be used to direct a new General Practitioner with Extended Role (GPwER) qualification. CONCLUSION: This list of obesity care competencies aims to provide an initial framework to improve education for HCPs and therefore to improve patient care in obesity. The acceptance and integration of these competencies into the healthcare system should provide a stepping stone toward addressing trends in health inequality.