IMPACT-O study highlights gaps in diagnosis recording and management of overweight and obesity

• Study reveals only a minority of people with overweight or obesity have a formal diagnosis in their healthcare records.¹
• Obesity-related complications are highly prevalent among adults with overweight/obesity in healthcare databases.¹
• The study underscores the urgent need for prompt recognition, formal diagnosis and documentation to address growing burden on people with obesity and healthcare systems.¹

BASINGSTOKE, 2 March 2026. A recent study published by Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) has underscored the urgent need for better recognition and documentation of obesity and overweight in healthcare settings. Results consistently suggest that recording of obesity in healthcare settings is insufficient worldwide. Diagnosis of obesity is the first step towards early and effective management, and failure to do so effectively can have significant implications on people living with obesity and healthcare systems.

The IMPACT-O study—a multinational retrospective study of over 40 million active subjects across 7 healthcare databases, in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Australia, and Japan—examined how overweight and obesity are recorded and described the profiles and related complications of affected adults in these regions. Multi-country results were published in 2025 and additional results from the UK have now been published, using information provided by general practitioners.²

Rates of BMI and diagnosis code recording in patients’ medical notes can help assess gaps in overweight/obesity recognition in healthcare settings and are essential for guiding population-based epidemiology statistics, referrals, care, and reimbursement.

Multi-country results highlight BMI and overweight/obesity are under-recorded in healthcare databases and obesity-related complications are highly prevalent
The rates of BMI recording were low across analysed databases (between 38.9% [UK] and 4.8% [Australia]).¹ Across seven countries, 3.78 million subjects were identified with overweight/obesity.¹ However, formal diagnosis codes were rarely applied, ranging from just 2.9% in France and 4.2% in the UK to 50.1% in Germany,¹ which is considerably lower than expected for other chronic diseases.³

Most people (between 60% and 85%) with overweight or obesity in databases also had at least one related health complication, and many had two or more complications. Conditions known to increase cardiovascular disease risk were most frequent, including hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidaemia (abnormal fat levels in the blood) and type 2 diabetes.

UK newly diagnosed population
In an additional analysis of the UK newly diagnosed population, almost half of the patients (48%) already had at least one obesity-related complication documented in the year before first recording of overweight or obesity. Yet very few were recorded as receiving pharmacological, lifestyle, or surgical treatments with a weight loss effect.²  

“Obesity is a chronic, progressive disease that affects 26.5% of adults in England⁴, and the condition poses a growing clinical and economic burden,⁵ ” said Khalil Asmar, Vice President Cardiometabolic Health, Lilly Northern Europe. “IMPACT-O results suggest that recording of obesity and overweight in healthcare settings is insufficient in the UK and worldwide. Diagnosing obesity and overweight is the first step towards acknowledging their impact on health, and providing early and effective support.”