Research Infrastructure & Funding

Research Infrastructure & Funding2026-08-11T19:01:43-04:00

PRIORITY #3

Advocate for obesity research and optimize funding

Scientific research is necessary to clarify the underlying mechanisms of obesity as a chronic disease, determine how it contributes to morbidity and mortality, and define its scope and impact in populations.  Research is critical to the development of evidence-based prevention programs and effective clinical treatment of obesity. Advancing obesity science requires investment in discovery, precision, and implementation research that integrates biological, behavioral, and environmental factors.¹²³ The NIH 2020–2030 Strategic Plan for Nutrition Research prioritizes precision nutrition and life-course determinants, while the NIDDK 2025 Strategic Plan emphasizes mechanisms of energy balance and treatment heterogeneity.⁴ Other agencies, such as the National Academies, highlight the importance of comparative-effectiveness and health-economics research to inform policy and clinical care.⁵ 

    1. Scientific research is critical to elucidating the pathophysiology of obesity as a chronic disease, evaluating social impacts, defining the scope of related morbidity and mortality, and developing evidence-based prevention programs and effective treatments.
    2. Innovative obesity research that advances scientific understanding, improves prevention strategies, and develops more effective, personalized treatments for obesity is necessary to advance health care.
    3. Federal funding for obesity research across federal agencies should be prioritized during the budget process with allocations across the translational health research spectrum.
    4. Funding for workforce development, early career research, and institutional infrastructure is critical to ensure that evolving science remains the cornerstone of prevention, care, and treatment of obesity.

  • Maintain robust and consistent federal funding for obesity research within federal agencies and across the translational spectrum, including prevention, policy, and social and economic impacts of obesity.
  • Ensure funding for multiple scientific fields that are necessary to understand the complexities and drivers of obesity. Research is needed in areas that impact obesity, including nutrition, endocrinology, genetics, molecular biology, epidemiology, public health, psychology, behavioral sciences, gastroenterology, data science, and bariatric surgery.
  • Safeguard federal data collection and databases that support obesity research. Incentivize public–private data-sharing partnerships with safeguards to ensure equitable data access.
  • Support early career and workforce development programs that position the U.S. as a leader in obesity-related research.
  • Promote the integration of representation metrics in all federally funded research.
  • Ensure research on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on obesity-related research, clinical outcomes, and delivery of care. Continue to evaluate best practices in using AI for obesity care.
  • Expand pragmatic nutrition and obesity-care effectiveness and implementation trials to advance the field and bring scientific advances to clinical practice and preventive care.

  1. NIH Strategic Plan for Nutrition Research. 2020, 2025 update.
  2. NIDDK Strategic Plan. 2025.
  3. National Academies Roundtable on Obesity Solutions. 2024.
  4. NIH Strategic Plan for Obesity Research. 2011.
  5. National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024.

Explore our latest efforts to expand access to evidence-based obesity care and remove barriers to treatment.

What we fight for:

Contact

The Obesity Society
9211 Corporate Boulevard, Suite 250
Rockville, MD 20850
Phone: (301) 563-6526
Email: [email protected]

Join Email List to stay informed.