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Obesity in the 2020s and Beyond: A Multidisciplinary Overview

A Special Issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383) belonging to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 March 2027 | Viewed by 3937

Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new Special Issue in the Journal of Clinical Medicine entitled “Obesity in the 2020s and Beyond: A Multidisciplinary Overview”. This Special Issue seeks to provide a comprehensive and forward-looking synthesis of the rapidly evolving landscape of obesity research, spanning its biological foundations, clinical manifestations, and population-level impact.

Obesity remains one of the most pressing global health challenges of our time, intricately linked with a wide spectrum of metabolic, mechanical, and psychological complications, as well as reduced life expectancy. In this context, the Special Issue aims to capture recent advances in the understanding, detection, prevention, and management of obesity and its associated complications, with an emphasis on translational relevance and clinical applicability.

We particularly welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, public health and epidemiology, and innovations in diagnostics, including biomarkers and multi-omics approaches relevant to clinical practice. Submissions exploring personalized and precision medicine strategies, as well as advances in lifestyle, pharmacological, and interventional therapies and procedures—including comparative effectiveness and safety profiles—are strongly encouraged. Particular emphasis will be placed on contemporary anti-obesity pharmacotherapy, including currently approved treatments as well as emerging therapeutic targets and novel molecules in the clinical development pipeline.

The Special Issue is also open to work addressing obesity and its comorbidities across the lifespan, including studies in pediatric, geriatric, and pregnancy populations, as well as in individuals with genetic or syndromic forms of obesity. We particularly encourage robust evidence derived from randomized clinical trials, well-designed observational studies, and state-of-the-art systematic or narrative reviews that meaningfully advance the field.

In line with contemporary standards in clinical and public health research, all submissions are expected to employ person-first and destigmatizing language and adhere to the highest ethical and reporting standards.

We look forward to your valuable contributions to this timely and important collection.

Dr. Andrej Belančić
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Clinical Medicine is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • obesity
  • anti-obesity pharmacotherapy
  • clinical pharmacology
  • pharmacovigilance
  • cardiometabolic diseases

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 473 KB  
Article
Strong Family-Level Clustering of Adolescent Weight Status Despite Limited Associations with Individual Parental Anthropometric and Metabolic Characteristics
by Vasilios Mournos, Georgios Dimakopoulos, Theano Makridou, Konstantinos Kontotasios, Dimitri J. Pournaras, Carel W. le Roux, Alexander Kokkinos, Kalliopi Kotsa and Theocharis Koufakis
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(15), 5790; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15155790 - 24 Jul 2026
Viewed by 536
Abstract
Objectives: Familial aggregation of obesity has been consistently reported; however, previous studies have predominantly relied on body mass index (BMI)-based associations and have dedicated insufficient time to examining the contribution of measurable parental biological traits to family-level clustering. We investigated associations between [...] Read more.
Objectives: Familial aggregation of obesity has been consistently reported; however, previous studies have predominantly relied on body mass index (BMI)-based associations and have dedicated insufficient time to examining the contribution of measurable parental biological traits to family-level clustering. We investigated associations between parental anthropometric and metabolic characteristics and adolescent weight status in families in which at least one parent had obesity, while exploring family-level clustering patterns. Methods: This cross-sectional family-based study included 34 families comprising 110 individuals (65 parents and 45 adolescents) consecutively recruited from primary care registries. Participants underwent anthropometric and biochemical evaluation, including indices of central body fat distribution. Linear mixed models were used to investigate associations between parental characteristics and adolescent BMI percentile while accounting for non-independence of observations within families. Results: Mean parental BMI was 31.37 ± 5.67 kg/m2, while 61.5% of parents had obesity. Among adolescents, 28.9% had BMI percentile between the 85th and 95th percentiles and 13.3% had a BMI percentile > 95th percentile. Strong family-level clustering of adolescent weight status was consistently observed across analyses, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.716 to 0.728. In contrast, parental characteristics demonstrated limited explanatory contribution (marginal R2 0.028–0.044), while no isolated parental variable showed a significant association with adolescent BMI percentile. Conclusions: Strong family-level clustering of adolescent weight status was observed despite the absence of significant associations with individual parental anthropometric and metabolic characteristics, suggesting that familial obesity susceptibility may reflect shared influences extending beyond routinely measurable traits alone. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Obesity in the 2020s and Beyond: A Multidisciplinary Overview)
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Review

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21 pages, 5853 KB  
Review
Preventive Strategies to Reduce Sarcopenia Risk During GLP-1-Based Anti-Obesity Therapy
by Andrej Belančić, Kristina Skroče, Elvira Meni Maria Gkrinia, Mihaela Marinović Glavić and Man Ki Kwok
J. Clin. Med. 2026, 15(15), 5870; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm15155870 - 27 Jul 2026
Viewed by 3139
Abstract
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and related incretin-based therapies are highly effective anti-obesity treatments, but weight loss may also include reductions in fat-free mass, raising concern for selected patients at risk of sarcopenia. This narrative review summarizes current evidence and practical, evidence-informed [...] Read more.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and related incretin-based therapies are highly effective anti-obesity treatments, but weight loss may also include reductions in fat-free mass, raising concern for selected patients at risk of sarcopenia. This narrative review summarizes current evidence and practical, evidence-informed strategies to support muscle health during GLP-1 RA-based anti-obesity therapy. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying higher-risk patients, including older adults, frail individuals, patients with low baseline muscle mass or strength, sarcopenic obesity, chronic kidney disease, low physical activity, or rapid weight loss. Preventive strategies include baseline assessment of body composition and muscle function, individualized resistance and multicomponent exercise, adequate protein intake, attention to nutritional adequacy, and periodic monitoring of body composition, strength, and physical performance. Treatment pace and dose escalation may also be individualized in higher-risk patients when unfavorable changes in fat-free mass or function occur. Current evidence remains limited, and many recommendations are extrapolated from weight-loss, nutrition, exercise, and sarcopenia literature rather than GLP-1 RA-specific trials. Overall, a risk-stratified and multidisciplinary approach may help preserve muscle mass and function while maintaining the cardiometabolic benefits of GLP-1 RA-based therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Obesity in the 2020s and Beyond: A Multidisciplinary Overview)
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