GSA Launches New Web-Based KAER Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) has released a new edition of The GSA KAER Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults in an online format. It is designed to help primary care teams take a comprehensive and structured approach to managing obesity, a chronic disease that affects more than 40% of all adults in the United States.
The KAER acronym is derived from a four-step process:
- Kickstart the weight management conversation.
- Assess for overweight and obesity.
- Evaluate treatment options.
- Refer for community resources.
“Obesity is increasingly recognized as a complex, multifactorial disease with significant impacts on metabolic, cardiovascular, and overall health,” said John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, AGSF, FTOS, FGSA, a member of the expert advisory panel for the toolkit and an associate professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. “Despite its prevalence, it often goes underdiagnosed and undertreated in clinical settings.”
To address these needs, GSA aims to equip providers with practical tools to integrate evidence-based obesity care into routine practice.
In addition to focusing on treating obesity as a chronic disease, the toolkit includes information for addressing weight bias in healthcare and personalizing assessment and treatment approaches for older adults. The toolkit also emphasizes the importance of ongoing follow-up, patient readiness, and culturally sensitive care, recognizing that sustainable weight management requires long-term partnerships.
New information includes strategies to manage older adults who are using medications to manage their weight, with a particular focus on the prevention of sarcopenia and nutritional deficiencies.
“The KAER toolkit provides clinicians an opportunity to tailor emerging therapies for obesity in a careful and thoughtful manner for older adults who require careful monitoring during weight loss efforts,” Batsis said.
The GSA KAER Toolkit for the Management of Obesity in Older Adults was first released in 2022. This current revision includes updated content and has been adapted for web-based use while preserving the key approaches for implementing the KAER framework. All content and design updates are made to enhance the toolkit’s usefulness for primary care teams, health professional educators and students, and others. It includes practical approaches, educational resources, and validated clinical tools that teams can integrate into their clinical workflow.
Support for the KAER toolkit revision was provided by Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Haleon.
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the 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.