First clinical consensus takes shape on obesity drugs and cardiovascular disease

Leading health experts gathered in Melbourne yesterday for the inaugural National Stakeholder Forum on Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease to develop Australia’s first Clinical Consensus Statement on the role of emerging weight loss drugs in managing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

With two-thirds of Australian adults now living with overweight or obesity, the urgency to address this escalating public health challenge is intensifying. Obesity significantly increases the risk of chronic diseases, particularly CVD, which remains one of Australia’s biggest killers – claiming one life every 12 minutes and accounting for 24% of all deaths.

Professor Garry Jennings AO, Chief Medical Advisor at the Heart Foundation and Co-Chair of the National Taskforce, said “While non-pharmacological measures such as healthy nutrition and physical activity remain the first line of treatment for obesity and overweight, there is a new wave of emerging medications which significantly reduce body weight.

“Some of these drugs have also been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes, particularly in people living with obesity or overweight and established cardiovascular disease.”

In response to a public petition calling for Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide) to be subsidised through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), Federal Health Minister Mark Butler recently wrote to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) seeking advice.

“This may include, but not be limited to, the Australian population cohorts most likely to benefit from the potential future availability of Wegovy, or other anti-obesity medications such as [Lilly’s Mounjaro] tirzepatide, through the PBS,” Minister Butler stated.

“I also requested advice from the PBAC on the optimal duration of subsidisation, noting the limited long term safety data on the use of these medicines. And on whether these medicines are effective standalone therapies or best used in combination with other interventions, such as bariatric surgery or supporting models of care to achieve optimal patient outcomes.”

The Heart Foundation has established a multidisciplinary National Taskforce to oversee development of the Clinical Consensus Statement, designed to serve as a trusted, evidence-based resource for clinicians navigating complex decisions around obesity and cardiovascular risk.

Expected to be released in early 2026, the Statement will be informed by the insights of stakeholders attending the Forum and a comprehensive independent evidence review led by the University of Queensland.

“It can be hard for clinicians to keep up with the rapid pace at which evidence is being published in this area – this year alone, 22 meta-analyses have been published looking at the impact of weight loss medicines on CVD risk,” Professor Jennings noted.

Despite the long-established link between obesity and heart conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart failure and arrhythmias, it remains under-recognised as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

“We are lucky to have several new treatment options available, and many more to come in the near future, to not only support weight loss but also improve cardiovascular outcomes in people that need it most,” emphasised Professor Jennings.

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