ISESA is united with 11 other leading international peak bodies representing exercise and sports science in calling for Clinical Exercise Physiologists* (CEPs) to be a core part of obesity care.
The joint statement shares an agreed position on the role of prescribed exercise in helping people use weight-loss medications safely and effectively. These medications are an important advance in obesity treatment, but they achieve the best results with comprehensive wrap around care – including exercise physiology.
Evidence shows that up to 20–40% of total weight lost during these treatments may come from lean tissue, including skeletal muscle.
That’s why exercise physiology is important. CEPs are university-trained allied health practitioners who prescribe and supervise exercise to preserve muscle, strength, and physical function during weight loss.
The 12 international peak bodies are calling on governments, health ministries, regulatory agencies, universities, medical regulatory bodies and international health institutions to act with urgency on the six priority areas:
- Make multidisciplinary care standard practice for people prescribed GLP-1 medications.
- Ensure equitable access to obesity medications and support like exercise physiology.
- Eliminate body weight stigma across healthcare, education, policy and practice.
- Invest in integrated models of care to improve outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs.
- Develop evidence-based clinical guidelines and referral pathways.
- Invest in research, surveillance and data to strengthen obesity care.
This will make substantial positive difference for people using these medications and ensure it isn’t just weight loss, but health gain.
Joint statement on exercise in obesity care
*Note: ‘Clinical Exercise Physiologist’ is the internationally agreed term used in this joint statement. This profession is not yet established in Ireland, though the Irish Sport and Exercise Sciences Association is actively working towards its recognition.
The international joint statement was collaborated on by 12 leading international peak bodies representing exercise and sports science:
Exercise & Sports Science Australia (ESSA); Biokinetics Association of South Africa (BASA); Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP); Chartered Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences (CASES); Clinical Exercise Physiology Association (CEPA); Clinical Exercise Physiology New Zealand (CEPNZ); Clinical Exercise Physiology UK (CSEP-UK); European College of Sport Science (ECSS); International Confederation of Sport and Exercise Science Practice (ICSESP); Irish Sport and Exercise Sciences Association (OSESA); Norwegian Association for Clinical Exercise Physiologists (NFHT); Sport & Exercise Science New Zealand (SESNZ).