The Obesity Society (TOS) has announced Dr Catherine ‘Cathy’ Kotz, a leading researcher into the neuroscience of obesity and energy balance, is the new president of the organisation. Kotz's goals for the year include sustaining and expanding on the considerable progress TOS has made in restructuring the Society's sections and committees, the reach with other partner organizations, the new Corporate Obesity Roundtable; education, clinical and policy efforts; and excellence in the annual meeting.

Operating Room Systems (ORS) and Bowa Medical UK have entered a collaborative agreement to offer safe and comprehensive smoke management solutions to NHS and private healthcare providers. Under the joint venture agreement, Bowa Medical UK will work in partnership with ORS across the UK supporting the sales and marketing of the Lexion brand, consisting of three devices for the optimal surgical insufflation environment:

The proportion of adults with diagnosed diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, according to researchers from UCL and the National Center for Social Research (NatCen), who have analysed the latest results from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The report, which was commissioned by NHS Digital, analysed data from over 8,200 adults and 2,000 children living in private households in England and shows the percentage of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes has risen since 1994, from 3% to 9% among men and from 2% to 6% among women.

Apollo Endosurgery has gained FDA 510k clearance of the X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System, a new, through-the-scope, suture-based device designed specifically for closing and healing defects in the lower gastrointestinal tract with additional applications in the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Dr Christian Eusebio has performed first bariatric metabolic surgery procedure in Guam’s at the Guam Regional Medical Center (GRMC). The surgery marks the realisation of a three-year goal for Eusebio, who has been working diligently to successfully implement the island’s first bariatric, surgery programme to combat Guam’s obesity and diabetes epidemic. The surgery went smoothly with no complications and the patient was discharged the following day. Eusebio is a surgeon at Island Surgical Center with privileges at GRMC.

Novo Nordisk has received FDA approval for an updated label for Saxenda (liraglutide) injection 3mg for use in the treatment of obesity in adolescents (12–17 years) with a body weight above 60kg and an initial body mass index (BMI) corresponding to 30 kg/m2 or greater for adults, as an adjunct to reduced-calorie meals and increased physical activity.

Follow-up telehealth visits have proved to be highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrates that surgical practices can continue to thrive with the help of telemedicine during the pandemic, according to a study looking at patient volume from Stony Brook Medicine's Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center.

Patients who have had bariatric surgery may not be receiving follow up care from their GPs as recommended in clinical guidelines, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Birmingham. Although clinical guidelines recommend that patients receive nutritional and weight monitoring annually for life following surgery, this study reported that this does not appear to be happening in most cases, leading to weight regain and malnutrition

Obesity is associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes how study this is not due to increased inflammation, but instead may be driven by respiratory issues or other factors, according to researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC). These findings were reported in the paper, ‘Clinical outcomes and inflammatory marker levels in patients with Covid-19 and obesity at an inner-city safety net hospital’, in the journal PLOS ONE.

A higher body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of cancer for men and a higher waist-to-hip ratio increases the risk for women, according to a study of over 100,000 people led by researchers at the University of Bristol and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.