Gerontological Society of America Applauds Introduction of Treat and Reduce Obesity Act

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) commends Senators Bill Cassidy, MD, and Ben Ray Lujan for introducing the Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2025. This legislation is critical for providing Medicare beneficiaries with access to comprehensive obesity care including anti-obesity medications (AOMs) and intensive behavioral therapy (IBT).

The Treat and Reduce Obesity Act (TROA) will expand access to comprehensive obesity care by covering FDA-approved AOMs for Medicare beneficiaries and expanding coverage options for IBT. These services are essential pieces of the treatment pathways for managing the chronic disease of obesity.

“Elevating obesity disease management to the forefront will help primary care providers care for people with diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and many other diseases,” said GSA CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH, ScD (Hon). “The chronic disease of obesity can exacerbate other health conditions. GSA is pleased to see the TROA introduced in Congress and looks forward to Congress passing this important legislation, which will lead to more meaningful lives as we age.”

GSA continues to address the chronic disease of obesity as an opportunity to improve health outcomes across the life course and has worked to develop several resources for the treatment and management of obesity in older people. This includes a model for care of older people that provides a framework for primary care providers in helping older people with obesity recognize their condition and take action to obtain and maintain a healthy weight.

The GSA KAER Framework — Kickstart, Assess, Evaluate, and Refer — supports primary care teams to better meet the needs of older people with obesity and overweight. Using this Framework with the tools and resources in the GSA Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults, care teams can kickstart the discussion of weight with older people and their families.

In 2023, GSA hosted a roundtable discussion with researchers, clinicians, and advocates who were asked to identify key questions about obesity as a disease of body weight regulation and how existing paradigms and perceptions about obesity can be improved among health professionals, policymakers, and the public.

This discussion led to the identification of seven strategies for addressing barriers to quality obesity care for older people presented in the report, “Bringing Obesity Management to the Forefront of Care for Older Adults: Seven Strategies for Success.”

###

The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. It serves more than 6,000 members in over 50 countries. GSA’s vision, meaningful lives as we age, is supported by its mission to foster excellence, innovation, and collaboration to advance aging research, education, practice, and policy. GSA is home to the National Academy on an Aging Society (a nonpartisan public policy institute) and the National Center to Reframe Aging.