Recommendations for Pharmacological Treatment of Obesity with a Slovak Co-author Published in a Prestigious Journal
The latest guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of obesity issued by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), co-authored by a representative from Slovakia, have been published in Nature Medicine, one of the world’s most prestigious journals in translational medicine. Associate Professor Ľubomíra Fábryová, President of the Slovak Obesity Association (SOA), First Vice-President of EASO from Slovakia, and a diabetology specialist at the Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAS), contributed to the publication.
“Obesity is a chronic disease that requires long-term management. According to current estimates, almost three million Slovaks will be affected by overweight or obesity by 2030, making this issue highly urgent. Obesity management must be comprehensive, timely, long-term, and sustainable,” says Ľubomíra Fábryová.
The article published in Nature Medicine updates the 2025 EASO guidelines. These were the first recommendations to focus not only on weight reduction but also on the effects of pharmacological treatment on the mechanical and metabolic complications associated with obesity. The recommendations evaluate the latest available evidence and data from evidence-based medicine. The May 2026 update reviews new findings and studies concerning the effects of anti-obesity medications on liver disease. It reports that both metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and liver fibrosis improved following treatment with semaglutide.
“Obesity is one of the leading causes of deteriorating population health and serves as a gateway to the development of many other diseases, ranging from cardiovascular and metabolic disorders to certain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. The importance of pharmacotherapy in the comprehensive management of obesity is further highlighted by the fact that, from mid-June, France will become the first European Union country to reimburse anti-obesity medications through public health insurance,” adds Associate Professor Ľubomíra Fábryová.
Since 2022, BMC SAS has operated the first EASO-accredited Obesity Management Centre in Slovakia. Scientists and physicians there investigate the causes and consequences of obesity, explore intervention strategies, and provide patients with comprehensive care that includes nutrition, physical activity, and coaching.
“Our centre welcomes more than one hundred new patients each year. In cooperation with the Slovak Obesity Association, we have been promoting an active and healthy lifestyle as a key component of comprehensive obesity management for more than a decade, while also helping to implement these principles in practice. We see great value in this approach because obesity management is a marathon, and long-term sustainable lifestyle change is an essential part of success,” says Professor Barbara Ukropcová, founder and head of the Obesity Management Centre at BMC SAS.
Full article in Nature Medicine
Contact person: Assoc. Prof. Ľubomíra Fábryová, President of SOA, Vice-President of EASO, and diabetology specialist at BMC SAS, e-mail: lfabryova@metabolklinik.sk
Edited by: Ela Rybárová, BMC SAS
Photo: Archive of Ľ. Fábryová