EAS Consensus Statement on Metabolic Disorders – Key messages

Systemic Metabolic Disorders (SMD), including obesity-related conditions, represent an escalating global health threat. A new EAS consensus highlights the urgent need to shift from fragmented care targeting single risk factors to a more integrated and proactive management approach.

🔑 Key messages from the Consensus:

1. Obesity-related metabolic disorders are a growing global health threat.
   Their rising prevalence is linked to increased long-term health risks, yet current care often targets single conditions, limiting effectiveness.
   
2. Management of systemic metabolic disorders (SMD) requires a holistic approach with a new clinical staging system based on disease progression and pathophysiology to guide early and tailored interventions.
   
   • Stage 1: Metabolic abnormalities without organ damage
   • Stage 2: Early organ damage
   • Stage 3: Advanced organ disease
     
     Each stage includes specific diagnostic criteria and treatment strategies.
     
3. The root cause of SMD sustained positive energy balance which drives insulin resistance and systemic inflammation.
   
4. In SMD early intervention is critical.
   In the UK Biobank, 58% of participants had stage 1 and 19% had stage 2. Stage 2 was associated with a 49% increase in all-cause mortality.
   
5. SMD management should be proactive and comprehensive, combining:
   
   • Lifestyle modifications (as first-line strategy at all stages)
   • Pharmacotherapy which includes in the later stages GLP1R agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors
   • Metabolic surgery in severe cases
     
6. The framework aligns with EAS’s mission to improve global health by advancing earlier diagnosis, better risk stratification, and a holistic management of SMD.