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Open research questions in Obesity and Health Practices

269 gap statements mined from Obesity and Health Practices papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,205 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • Despite this diagnosis, training interventions to reduce weight bias in healthcare professionals remain scarce and often with a lack of consensus. Although studies in nursing that assess negative attitudes towards weight using the AFA and BAOP scales are scarce, the literature shows that healthcare professionals, in general, have discriminatory attitudes towards people who are overweight or obese.

    Weight Bias in Nursing: A Pilot Study on Feasibility and Negative Attitude Assessment Among Primary Care Nurses · 2025 · DOI

  • The focus was on RNs’ role in the primary healthcare management of people with obesity; however, RNs are integral members of teams, and the literature on team-based care for obesity management was not explored in this scoping review.

    Nurses’ Role in Obesity Management in Adults in Primary Healthcare Settings Worldwide: A Scoping Review · 2024 · DOI

  • By expanding and leveraging these results through further research in this field, effective, evidence-based interventions can be developed to combat weight bias and stigma and enhance understanding of obesity among healthcare professionals.

    Is Obesity a Cause for Shame? Weight Bias and Stigma among Physicians, Dietitians, and Other Healthcare Professionals in Poland—A Cross-Sectional Study · 2024 · DOI

  • Despite proliferation in the published literature on this emerging field, there is a lack of consensus in common terms; to the authors’ knowledge, this study was the first to investigate and propose definitions for this field.

    Culinary Medicine or Culinary Nutrition? Defining Terms for Use in Education and Practice · 2024 · DOI

  • While weight self-stigma has been identified as a potential barrier to physical activity, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear.

    Weight Self-Stigma and Home Physical Activity in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model · 2026 · DOI

  • Future research should investigate whether the effects of the intervention vary across students with different weight profiles.

    A School-Based Intervention Program to Reduce Weight Stigma in Adolescents · 2025 · DOI

  • This lack of evidence to inform decision-making as to the most effective components of behavioural weight management interventions will ultimately hamper the commissioning of such programmes.

    Mapping components of behavioural weight management interventions using electronic survey and component selection by expert consensus: the BE:COME Study · 2025 · DOI

  • There is a need for more emphasis on culinary medicine in lifestyle medicine. The connection between lifestyle medicine and culinary medicine needs to be further explored.

    Lifestyle Medicine and Culinary Medicine: Important Synergies and Deep Connections · 2026 · DOI

  • Obesity remains underprioritized in medical education. Current curricula often do not provide sufficient education on obesity's multifactorial etiology, treatment modalities, and counseling techniques.

    The Impactful Weight of Treating Beyond the Scale: A Comprehensive Course to Improve Obesity Care Among Medical Students · 2026 · DOI

  • The series will focus on obesity education, including improving awareness and knowledge of weight bias in health care. What skills do you believe are essential for addressing weight bias/obesity education in this module series? What teaching methods do you think would be most effective in delivering content on weight bias ?

    Weight Bias Education in Medical Training: Insights from Stakeholder Perspectives · 2026 · DOI

  • Table 2 Sample Semi-Structured Focus Group Questions for Faculty Section 1: Medical School Education on Weight Bias and Gaps 1. Do you know of any areas in the curriculum where obesity education, and specifically weight bias, is addressed? If so, can you tell us how it was incorporated into the curriculum, delivered as a standalone offering, or as provided as a program outside of the curriculum?

    Weight Bias Education in Medical Training: Insights from Stakeholder Perspectives · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap between public and expert perceptions of the causes of obesity. The public often opposes policies targeting environmental causes of obesity.

    A mental model of obesity: comparing expert and public perceptions in Ireland, the UK, and the US · 2026 · DOI

  • Introduction and Objective: GLP-1 RAs are increasingly used for WL, yet little is known about how PwO experience and personalize treatment in everyday life.

    2614-P: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Dosing Practices among People Living with Obesity (PwO) Using Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs) for Weight Loss (WL): A U.S. Qualitative Study · 2026 · DOI

  • There is no comprehensive synthesis or guidelines to address safe mobilization for patients with obesity in inpatient settings. The review aims to address this gap by summarizing the available evidence on strategies used to safely mobilize patients with obesity.

    Strategies to promote safe mobilization of people with obesity in inpatient care settings: A scoping review protocol · 2026 · DOI

  • Addressing the lack of trust in healthcare professional knowledge. Providing personalized care and holistic treatment approaches.

    “What Patients Want”: a qualitative study of expectations and ideal clinical encounters in obesity consultations · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a lack of patient-centered models in chronic disease care. Few studies have systematically examined the specific communicative, relational, and informational elements that patients value during clinical encounters.

    “What Patients Want”: a qualitative study of expectations and ideal clinical encounters in obesity consultations · 2026 · DOI

  • The next phase of research will employ a feasibility mixed-methods study integrating quantitative biomarker assessments with qualitative Talanoa sessions. The study will focus on New Zealand European and Pacific males. The research will aim to contextualise how lived experiences of stigma may translate into physiological dysregulation.

    Physiological pathways of weight stigma: a scoping review of biomarker evidence and methodological challenges · 2026 · DOI

  • Psychosocial Investigate adaptive features and content within digital interventions to provide comprehensive mental health support alongside obesity management. How can digital interventions be tailored to better address the mental health needs of individuals with comorbid obesity and mental health issues? How can personalized care be enhanced in digital interventions for obesity and mental health care?

    Assessing the Uses, Benefits, and Limitations of Digital Technologies Used by Health Professionals in Supporting Obesity and Mental Health Communication: Scoping Review · 2024 · DOI

  • The study documents reduced implicit bias and increased self-awareness of biases regarding obesity, but does not assess whether these attitudinal changes in medical students correlate with measurable improvements in clinical outcomes (e.g., patient satisfaction, treatment adherence, weight loss) or reduce internalized weight stigma experienced by patients with obesity receiving care from trained students.

    The Impactful Weight of Treating Beyond the Scale: A Comprehensive Course to Improve Obesity Care Among Medical Students · 2026 · DOI

  • The current approach to obesity often focuses on size rather than complications. Weight bias and stigma can have negative impacts on patients' health outcomes.

    Stigma and bias in the care of people living with obesity: An interview with Dr. Sean Wharton · 2026 · DOI

  • While Indigenous and South and Southeast Asian groups were most frequently represented in culturally specific diabetes nutrition resources, guidance for populations with high risk of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality, such as African groups, was sparse.

    Cultural specificity and linguistic diversity in medical nutrition therapy education resources for type 2 diabetes · 2026 · DOI

  • Visible Minority and Intersectionality Nashit Chowdhury 1 and Tanvir C.

    The Unheeded Layers of Health Inequity: Visible Minority and Intersectionality · 2025 · DOI

  • Though this work serves as an important first step, future studies should explore additional search engines and social media platforms…

    Weight-Inclusive Physical Activity: A Systematic Evaluation of Virtual Resources · 2025 · DOI

  • The results of this study reveal a moderate level of weight stigma among healthcare professionals in Poland as well as highlight gaps in knowledge about obesity.

    Is Obesity a Cause for Shame? Weight Bias and Stigma among Physicians, Dietitians, and Other Healthcare Professionals in Poland—A Cross-Sectional Study · 2024 · DOI

  • The development of novel pharmacological agents for obesity treatment. The establishment of a national cohort and registry to generate long-term real-world evidence on obesity treatment.

    Swiss obesity clinical practice guidance · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Obesity and Health Practices

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) While weight self-stigma has been identified as a potential barrier to physical activity, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear (“Weight Self-Stigma and Home Physical Activity in Adolescents: A Moderated…”, 2026); (2) There is a need for more emphasis on culinary medicine in lifestyle medicine (“Lifestyle Medicine and Culinary Medicine: Important Synergies and Deep…”, 2026); (3) There is no comprehensive synthesis or guidelines to address safe mobilization for patients with obesity in inpatient settings (“Strategies to promote safe mobilization of people with obesity in inpatient…”, 2026); (4) Addressing the lack of trust in healthcare professional knowledge (““What Patients Want”: a qualitative study of expectations and ideal clinical…”, 2026); (5) Despite this diagnosis, training interventions to reduce weight bias in healthcare professionals remain scarce and often with a lack of consensus (“Weight Bias in Nursing: A Pilot Study on Feasibility and Negative Attitude…”, 2025). 269 gap statements have been mined from Obesity and Health Practices papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,205 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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