Obesity Finally Gets Its Own Standards of Care: ADA 2025 Opens with a Game Changing Shift

Our first update from the ADA 85th Annual Scientific Sessions

We are drowning in data over here. 90 human obesity abstracts. 65 more in animal trials. Every hour, another headline drops. Calling it a fire hose doesn’t do it justice. This is a full blown waterfall. But let’s take a deep breath and begin where it all started today, with something that could change the course of obesity treatment forever.

At the opening of the 85th annual American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, the ADA made one thing very clear. It’s no longer enough to treat diabetes without addressing the elephant in the room. Obesity is finally being recognized as a disease in its own right, and for the first time, the ADA has issued clinical guidelines. Actual standards of care. For treating it.

Let that sink in.

The session was called Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity 2025 Updates, and while that title may sound dry, the content was anything but. For decades, doctors have been told how to manage diabetes down to the decimal, but when it comes to obesity, it’s been mostly vibes and BMI charts. That ends now.

These new guidelines, published by the ADA’s Obesity Association and recently previewed in BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, go beyond weight loss tips and calorie math. They offer real structure for clinicians, including

Training on weight bias and stigma

Person centered language and inclusive clinical environments

Shared decision making models

Evidence based interventions with pharmacologic support on the way

You read that right. There’s already a preview of what's coming next, a dedicated section on medications. Yes, the ADA is carving out space for drugs like tirzepatide, semaglutide, and others that are rewriting the rulebook on obesity care. The same way they’ve always had a section on insulin for diabetes, there will now be a section for GLP-1s and related meds in obesity treatment.

This is no small thing. Over 110 million American adults live with obesity. Every year, more than half of new type 2 diabetes diagnoses are directly linked to it. Yet patients seeking treatment are still told to try harder. To eat less. To walk more. And if they ask for help, many doctors still don’t know where to start.

The new ADA guidelines are designed to change that. It’s not just about weight loss. It’s about dignity, structure, and access to tools that work.

This is only the beginning of what we’re covering at ADA 2025. Here’s a glimpse at a few of the other obesity focused studies we’ll be breaking down soon

A 52 week Phase 2 trial of once monthly MariTide

The ADJUST T1D trial exploring semaglutide in type 1 diabetes

The BELIEVE study of bimagrumab and semaglutide for preserving lean mass

The ACHIEVE 1 trial of orforglipron, a nonpeptide oral GLP-1

New data from REDEFINE 1 and 2 on CagriSema

But for now, we start with this. A moment of validation. A long overdue sign that the ADA sees what we’ve known all along. Obesity isn’t a failure of willpower, it’s a treatable condition, and people living with it deserve the same clinical respect and roadmap as anyone else.

The press release says “it’s only just the beginning.” We agree. And we’ll be right here, covering every moment of what comes next.

Stay tuned to OnThePen.com for more updates and in depth analysis on the latest developments in weight loss and diabetes treatments. Sharing this article is a powerful form of advocacy that brings us closer to our goal of educating the masses and reducing the stigma of obesity. If you found this article insightful, please share it within your networks, especially in Facebook groups and Reddit forums dedicated to GLP-1 medications and diabetes management. Together, we can make a difference.