The consensus places medical nutrition therapy, resistance exercise, nutrient adequacy, functional monitoring and psychological support alongside pharmacotherapy. Preserving lean mass and physical function is treated as an explicit part of care, not an optional add-on.
Source identification
Organizations: European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), European Federation of the Associations of Dietitians (EFAD), and European Coalition for People Living with Obesity (ECPO).
Publication: 2026 consensus statement on nutritional, functional and psychological considerations for incretin-based therapies in adults.
Key recommendations
- Medical nutrition therapy should continue throughout treatment rather than being displaced by medication.
- Nutrition care should address adequate protein, fibre, fluids, micronutrient sufficiency and overall nutrient density.
- Resistance exercise is recommended as part of strategies intended to preserve lean mass and physical function.
- Gastrointestinal adverse effects and reduced food intake require monitoring because they may compromise nutritional adequacy.
- Psychological wellbeing, eating behavior, coping and identity should be considered within person-centred care.
- Long-term research is still needed to establish the best strategies for protecting muscle and bone during treatment.
What it does not prove
The statement does not establish one universally optimal protein target or resistance-training protocol for every person using incretin-based medication. Medication choice, nutritional requirements, comorbidities and exercise tolerance remain clinical decisions that require individualized assessment.
Coaching application
For a client using an incretin-based obesity medication, scale weight alone is an incomplete monitoring strategy. Nutrition adequacy, resistance-training participation, strength or functional trends, symptoms, adherence and recovery may all matter when evaluating whether body-mass reduction is occurring in a clinically and functionally acceptable way.