Obesity and CVD: Launching the Heart Foundation's new clinical consensus statement

Although obesity is a leading, treatable cause of CVD and multimorbidity, it is often overlooked and undertreated in routine care. The new clinical consensus statement outlines the latest evidence, recommendations, and practical strategies for assessing and managing people living with overweight or obesity and established, or at high risk of, CVD.  

The new statement contains:

- Understanding overweight and obesity as chronic, modifiable drivers of CVD, including their impact on risk, multimorbidity and clinical outcomes.

- Practical approaches to assessing overweight and obesity in primary‑care, including BMI and related measures, and implications for risk assessment.

- Evidence-based behaviour modification strategies, including nutrition and physical activity, to support weight management and improve cardiovascular outcomes.

- The role of pharmacotherapy and surgical interventions, including pharmacotherapy with demonstrated cardiovascular benefit, indications for metabolic bariatric surgery, and referral and shared-care considerations.

- Lifelong, integrated and person-centred care to manage overweight/obesity and optimise cardiovascular health, including for priority populations.