New toolkit for obesity care helps clinicians integrate lifestyle interventions with obesity medications

Obesity medications have rapidly reshaped obesity care, but without structured lifestyle interventions, patients face higher risks of gastrointestinal side effects, inadequate nutrient intake, loss of lean mass and bone density and weight regain. The toolkit addresses the gaps between obesity medications and lifestyle support.

ST. LOUIS, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As the use of obesity medications, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, continues to expand, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has released a new Obesity Medications & Lifestyle Medicine Toolkit to help clinicians deliver safer, more effective, and more sustainable obesity care.

Obesity medications are transforming the treatment landscape, with one in eight adults reporting they are currently using obesity medications and one in five saying they have used the medications at some point. The clinical trials establishing the efficacy of these medications paired pharmacotherapy with structured lifestyle interventions, such as dietary counseling and physical activity targets. Without structured lifestyle medicine integration, patients face higher risks of gastrointestinal side effects, inadequate nutrient intake, loss of lean mass and bone density, functional decline, psychological distress, and weight regain. However, until now, there has been a lack of specific information about using lifestyle interventions as adjunctive therapy.

"Obesity medications can be powerful tools, but they are not stand‑alone solutions," Hospital for Special Surgery Clinical Nutritionist Kate Cohen, MS, RD, CDN, DipACLM, who helped develop the toolkit, said. "We're in a time of unprecedented adoption of these new medications, but up until now, we have been lacking straightforward, practical guidance on how to pair these therapies with evidence‑based lifestyle care. I'm excited that this toolkit provides much-needed support for clinicians and patients and the challenges they are facing right now."

The toolkit provides practical, clinician‑ready guidance and a library of patient-facing education across the full course of obesity medication use—from initiation and titration to maintenance and potential discontinuation.

Key features include:

• Expert clinical summaries on integrating obesity medications with the six pillars of lifestyle medicine: optimal nutrition, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, connectedness and avoidance of risky substances
• Clear guidance on risk mitigation, including protecting muscle mass, nutritional adequacy, hydration, and mental health during periods of reduced appetite and rapid weight change
• Language and framing tools to support respectful, person‑first conversations that improve trust, adherence, and shared decision‑making
• Symptom‑management strategies to reduce gastrointestinal side effects and prevent unnecessary treatment discontinuation
• Behavioral screening and referral pathways to help clinicians identify when additional nutrition, behavioral health, or specialty support is needed
• Downloadable patient handouts that translate clinical guidance into actionable, supportive education for patients using obesity medications

ACLM developed the toolkit in response to growing concerns among clinicians about how obesity medications are being used in real‑world settings, often without adequate lifestyle counseling. It is designed for use across primary care, endocrinology, cardiology, obesity medicine, and other clinical settings where obesity is treated.

"The toolkit reinforces ACLM's position that the primary goal of obesity treatment is improved health, function, and quality of life—not simply weight loss," said Aroga Lifestyle Medicine Chief Medical Officer Jasdeep Saluja, MD, FRCPC, DipABLM, DipABOM, who chairs ACLM's GLP-1 Committee. "With these resources, clinicians can align rapidly evolving obesity treatments with current evidence, professional guidelines, and whole-person care."

The Obesity Medications & Lifestyle Medicine Toolkit is available free to ACLM members and for $49 to non-members here.

About ACLM^®
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the nation's medical professional society advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system, essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole-person health. ACLM represents, advocates for, trains, certifies, and equips its members to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease by optimizing modifiable risk factors. ACLM is filling the gaping void of lifestyle medicine in medical education, providing more than 1.2 million hours of lifestyle medicine education to physicians and other health professionals since 2004, while also advancing research, clinical practice and reimbursement strategies.

SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine