Aims and Scope

Core scope

Five domains. Research in any of them is within scope by subject; the methodological expectations below apply to all of them.

• Core domain 01

  Assessment, diagnosis and classification

  How obesity is identified, measured and characterized before anything is done about it, and how well the measures perform.

  • Measurement of adiposity and body composition, and validation of the methods used
  • The limits of body mass index, and waist, regional and compartment-specific measures
  • Diagnostic criteria, clinical staging and phenotyping
  • Risk stratification, and prediction of response to a given treatment
  • Screening in clinical, workplace and community settings
• Core domain 02

  Prevention

  Prevention of obesity and of weight gain, at the level of the individual, the clinic, the community and the population.

  • Clinical prevention, including in people at high risk and after weight loss
  • Prevention in childhood and adolescence, and family-based approaches
  • School, workplace and community programs and their evaluation
  • Food environment and built environment, studied as modifiable exposures
  • Policy and regulatory measures evaluated as interventions
• Core domain 03

  Treatment and intervention

  Five modalities, considered on the same terms. A study of any one of them is in scope; so is a study that compares or combines them.

  • Nutrition and dietary intervention — dietary patterns and composition, energy balance, meal timing and structure, dietary adherence, nutritional assessment in the context of weight management
  • Physical activity and exercise — exercise prescription, sedentary behavior, energy expenditure, body-composition change, activity adherence
  • Behavioral and psychological intervention — behavior change and its techniques, eating behavior including binge-eating and loss-of-control eating, motivation and adherence, psychological care alongside other treatment
  • Pharmacotherapy — efficacy, comparative effectiveness, safety and tolerability, adherence, persistence and discontinuation, real-world use, and the management of treatment alongside other modalities
  • Bariatric, metabolic and endoscopic procedures — patient selection, outcomes, complications, comparative effectiveness, revision and re-intervention, and post-procedural medical, nutritional and psychological care
• Core domain 04

  Long-term management, maintenance and weight regain

  What happens after the first result. The journal treats this as a domain in its own right rather than as an appendix to treatment.

  • Maintenance after any modality, and the physiology and behavior of weight regain
  • Adherence, persistence and discontinuation, including after pharmacotherapy
  • Treatment sequencing, escalation and re-intervention
  • Continuity of care, multidisciplinary models and follow-up in practice
  • Outcomes reported beyond the first year
• Core domain 05

  Obesity-related metabolic health and comorbidity

  The conditions that travel with excess adiposity, where obesity is the exposure, the treatment target, the mechanism under study or the management problem.

  • Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, including weight-centered management and remission after weight loss
  • Dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity-related cardiovascular risk
  • Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
  • Obstructive sleep apnea and obesity-related respiratory consequences
  • Reproductive and endocrine consequences of obesity
  • Managing obesity in the presence of multimorbidity

Where the boundaries run

Obesity overlaps several large fields. Each row below applies the same test: is obesity the question, or is it present in the sample?

Nutrition science

In scopeDietary research on obesity risk, prevention, treatment or associated health and functional outcomes. Weight, adiposity and body-composition outcomes should have a stated obesity context.

Not in scopeGeneral dietary, food-composition or micronutrient research without an obesity-related question.

Endocrinology

In scopeAppetite and energy-balance hormones, adipose endocrine function, and endocrine causes and consequences of obesity.

Not in scopeThyroid, adrenal, pituitary and reproductive endocrinology studied without an obesity question.

Diabetes

In scopeObesity as the exposure, the treatment target or the mechanism, including weight-centered diabetes management and remission after weight loss.

Not in scopeGlycemic-control studies in which body weight is only a reported variable.

Cardiovascular medicine

In scopeObesity-related cardiovascular risk and its modification, including the cardiovascular effect of weight management.

Not in scopeCardiology in which participants happen to have a high body mass index.

Exercise and sport science

In scopeActivity and exercise studied for obesity prevention or management, including adiposity, physical function, quality of life and cardiometabolic outcomes, whether or not weight loss occurs.

Not in scopePerformance physiology and training science without an obesity-related question.

Surgery

In scopePatient selection, techniques, outcomes, complications, comparative effectiveness, and medical, nutritional and psychological care associated with bariatric, metabolic or endoscopic procedures for obesity.

Not in scopeOperative technique reported without an obesity-management question.

Digital health and technology

In scopeApplications, wearables, remote monitoring, telehealth and decision support studied for obesity assessment, prevention, treatment, adherence or follow-up, including development, usability, feasibility, measurement validity and effectiveness. Evidence should match the development stage and the claim.

Not in scopeGeneric tools or demonstrations without a substantive obesity research question or a systematic evaluation appropriate to the claim.

Basic and molecular science

In scopeMechanistic work on the development, biology or consequences of obesity, including relevant cellular, animal and computational models. Authors should explain the model’s relevance and limitations; demonstrated clinical translation is not required for scope eligibility.

Not in scopeMolecular metabolism without a substantive connection to obesity biology, risk, consequences or management.

Evidence expectations

Being in scope and being publishable are two different tests.

• Design

  The claim must be one the design can support

  Interpret findings within the design’s strengths and limitations. Observational associations do not by themselves establish causation; intervention studies should report effects, uncertainty, harms and limits to generalizability. Qualitative studies should justify sampling and analysis, and models should state assumptions and undergo evaluation appropriate to their intended use. Small samples and null results are assessed for the question they can answer, not excluded automatically.

• Outcomes

  Weight and body-composition outcomes carry their conditions

  Report the measurement method, the follow-up interval and the number of participants retained at each point. A result at twelve weeks and a result at two years are different findings, and a change in weight is not by itself a change in health.

• Interventions

  Commercial and non-standard interventions are assessed on the same terms

  Commercial weight-management products and services, supplements, devices and non-standard dietary approaches are eligible for consideration and are evaluated by the same methodological standard as any other intervention. A weight-loss claim is not a reason to publish, and the commercial interest behind a study is disclosed.

• Decisions

  What the editors weigh

  Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Editorial decisions remain independent of fees, services, memberships or editorial roles. Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts. Ethics, consent, trial registration and data-availability requirements are set out in the editorial policies.

Checking fit before you submit

Three questions settle most cases.

• Is obesity the question?

  State the substantive obesity question, including any focused subgroup or effect-modification analysis. Incidental measurement of body weight or recruitment of participants with obesity does not establish fit.

• Where does it sit on the continuum?

  Assessment, prevention, treatment, long-term management, obesity biology and determinants, or the physical, psychological and social consequences of obesity. Studies may address one area or connect several.

• Does the design support the claim?

  Scope eligibility is decided by subject; publication is decided by method, reporting and interpretation.

Submit a manuscript Instructions for authors Editorial policies

If you are unsure whether a manuscript fits, write to the editorial office at [email protected] with the title and abstract before preparing a full submission. Three submission routes are open: the publisher's portal at ManuscriptZone, the simple manuscript submission form preselected for this journal, and assisted submission through the editorial office. Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.