Work

The Overweight and Obesity Landscape in France: Data from the French Cohort of the Multi-country IMPACT-O Study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The epIdeMiology landscape PAtient Care paThways of Obesity (IMPACT-O) study was a multi-country, retrospective cohort study that utilised healthcare databases to determine the landscape/impact of overweight and obesity. Here we describe the sociodemographic, clinical and treatment characteristics of adults with a first record of overweight/obesity or obesity in France. This study utilised electronic medical records from the France longitudinal patient database (LPD) capturing data from general practitioners and specialist clinicians for 2018–2022. Included adults (≥ 18 years) had a diagnosis code and/or ≥ 1 body mass index of ≥ 25 kg/m2 (overweight/obesity cohort) or ≥ 30 kg/m2 (obesity cohort) and a ≥ 12-month observation period before and after their first record indicating overweight/obesity or obesity. Demographic and clinical parameters, including obesity-related complications (ORCs), as recorded by physicians contributing to the database, were described. Of 10,206,481 subjects in the France LPD, 93,714 were included in the overweight/obesity and 46,252 in the obesity cohort; of these, 58.9% and 63.1%, respectively, had ORCs. Hypertension was the most frequently recorded ORC for both cohorts (28.8% and 32.9%, respectively). The proportion of people receiving pharmacological therapies with an effect on weight was ≤ 3%; no lifestyle interventions or bariatric surgery were recorded. These results highlight the high burden of ORCs in adults with overweight or obesity at first available record and the limited use of pharmacological treatment with an effect on weight. Improving weight-related data capture in centralised electronic medical records could facilitate the integration of multidisciplinary approaches and better support the management of obesity. Graphical Abstract available for this article. This study evaluated information recorded in a database used by general practitioners and specialists in France to determine the general profile of people with overweight (mild excess weight, with a body mass index measurement higher than 25 kg/m2 but less than 30 kg/m2) and obesity (more severe excess weight, with a body mass index higher than 30 kg/m2) when first diagnosed. It also looked into the common health issues present in this population, the treatments they receive, and the kinds of medical professionals involved in their care. People included in the analysis had an average age of around 53 years and were more likely to be female individuals. The number of additional health conditions present in people with overweight or obesity tended to increase with increasing excess weight. High blood pressure was one of the most common health conditions recorded among people with overweight and obesity. There were very few records of administration of medicines with an effect on weight in the database, and there were no records of recommendations by physicians to reduce weight by changing lifestyle or undergoing bariatric surgery. These results highlight the burden of health conditions in adults in France with overweight or obesity when first diagnosed and the limited recording of medicines with an effect on weight. Comprehensive and centralized documentation of weight-related data in medical notes could help to improve the care of people with overweight and obesity.

Source: Advances in Therapy

DOI: 10.1007/s12325-026-03589-1

Authors: David Jacobi, Esther Artime, Marine Bertrand, Aya Kayali, Atif Adam, Anastasia Lampropoulou