A review of racial and ethnic disparities in obesity treatment
Open accessAbstract
This paper examines disparities in obesity treatment and their implications for health equity. A comprehensive literature review was performed using Pubmed, Medline, and Google Scholar to identify studies examining obesity treatment options that reported data on African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Caucasians. These studies, published from 2000 to 2022, revealed disparities in behavioral/lifestyle, surgical, and pharmacological interventions for obesity. While a majority of behavioral/lifestyle and surgical treatment studies found disparities in weight loss and clinical outcomes, pharmacological studies found minimal to no evidence of disparities or favorable outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities for weight and cardiometabolic outcomes. All treatment pathways showed disparities in referral rates, access, and engagement/retention. These findings underscore the urgent need to incorporate obesity treatment as a central component in strategies addressing health inequities. By understanding and addressing these disparities, healthcare equity can be improved, ensuring a more inclusive approach to obesity management.
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In the same review, findings were more mixed for pharmacologic obesity interventions, with inconsistent or no differences observed by race/ethnicity.
“Findings were more mixed for pharmacologic obesity interventions, with inconsistent or no differences observed by race/ethnicity [241].”
In a review of racial and ethnic differences in obesity outcomes of lifestyle, surgical, and pharmacological interventions published between 2000 and 2022, lower efficacy of lifestyle and surgical interventions was commonly identified among Black compared with White participants (with no or smaller differences for Hispanic compared with White participants).
“In a review of racial and ethnic differences in obesity outcomes of lifestyle, surgical, and pharmacological interventions published between 2000 and 2022, lower efficacy of lifestyle and surgical interventions was commonly identified among Black compared with White participants (with no or smaller differences for Hispanic compared with White participants).”
All treatment pathways showed racial/ethnic disparities in referral rates, access, engagement, and retention.
“However, all treatment pathways showed racial/ethnic disparities in referral rates, access, engagement, and retention.”
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Mozaffarian, D., Agarwal, M., Aggarwal, M., Alexander, L., Apovian, C. M., Bindlish, S., Bonnet, J., Butsch, W. S., Christensen, S., Gianos, E., et al. (2025) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.04.023 · Cited by 154 · see citing works
“Findings were more mixed for pharmacologic obesity interventions, with inconsistent or no differences observed by race/ethnicity [233].”
Mozaffarian, D., Agarwal, M., Aggarwal, M., Alexander, L., Apovian, C. M., Bindlish, S., Bonnet, J., Butsch, W. S., Christensen, S., Gianos, E., et al. (2025) · Obesity · doi:10.1002/oby.24336 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Mozaffarian, D., Agarwal, M., Aggarwal, M., Alexander, L., Apovian, C. M., Bindlish, S., Bonnet, J., Butsch, W. S., Christensen, S., Gianos, E., et al. (2025) · Obesity Pillars · doi:10.1016/j.obpill.2025.100181 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
- Authors
- Lele, R., Haller, S., David, K., Gutierrez, G., Rahmani, S. K., & Bailony, M. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Enara Health Inc., San Mateo, California, USA
- Santa Clara University (US)
- Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA
- University of Aleppo (SY)
- Corresponding author
- Lele, Raj
- Venue
- Medical Research Archives
- Publisher
- Knowledge Enterprise Journals
- Published
- 2023-12-25
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 12
- ISSN
- 2375-1916 (ISSN-L)
- 2375-1924
- OpenAlex
- W4390516601
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Medical Research Archives (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Bariatric Surgery and Outcomes
- Keywords
- obesity treatment, racial and ethnic disparities, health equity, COVID-19 pandemic, bariatric surgery, obesity pharmacotherapy, behavioral weight loss, weight loss outcomes, cardiometabolic outcomes, health care access, referral rates, patient retention, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Caucasians
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