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CORRECTION article

Front. Endocrinol., 02 October 2025

Sec. Obesity

Volume 16 - 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2025.1656611

Correction: Pharmacotherapy for obesity: are we ready to select, tailor and combine pharmacotherapy to achieve more ambitious goals?

This article is a correction to:

  1. Pharmacotherapy for obesity: are we ready to select, tailor and combine pharmacotherapy to achieve more ambitious goals?

    1. Read original article
Nele Steenackers,Nele Steenackers1,2Julia ToumassianJulia Toumassian1Ellen Deleus,Ellen Deleus1,3Ann Mertens,Ann Mertens1,4Matthias Lannoo,Matthias Lannoo1,3Sofia PazminoSofia Pazmino1Amar Daniël Emanuel van LaarAmar Daniël Emanuel van Laar1Bart Van der Schueren,Bart Van der Schueren1,4Roman Vangoitsenhoven,*Roman Vangoitsenhoven1,4*
  • 1Clinical and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • 2Department of Nutrition and Movement Sciences, Research Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
  • 3Department of Abdominal Surgery, University Hospitals, Leuven, Belgium
  • 4Department of Endocrinology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

A Correction on
Pharmacotherapy for obesity: are we ready to select, tailor and combine pharmacotherapy to achieve more ambitious goals?

By Steenackers N, Toumazia J, Deleus E, Mertens A, Lannoo M, Pazmino S, van Laar ADE, Van der Schueren B and Vangoitsenhoven R (2025) Front. Endocrinol. 16:1569468. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1569468

The figure captions were in the wrong order in the PDF version of this paper. Specifically, Figure 1 was intended to be Figure 3. Its caption was at Figure 2. Figure 2 was intended to be Figure 1. Its caption was at Figure 3. Figure 3 was intended to be Figure 2. Its caption was at Figure 1. The corrected captions of Figures 1–3 appear below.

Figure 1
Bar chart depicting guidelines and key trials for weight management. Lifestyle approaches are labeled as a cornerstone. Pharmacotherapy is recommended for BMI of 27 kg/m² with comorbidities or 30 kg/m² alone. Bariatric surgery is suggested for BMI of 30 kg/m² with comorbidities or 40 kg/m² alone. Key trials include Orlistat, Phentermine with Topiramate, Naltrexone with Bupropion, Liraglutide, Semaglutide, and Tirzepatide, each with sample size, mean BMI, weight loss (WL) in kilograms for active and placebo groups.

Figure 1. Overview of BMI-based treatment recommendations for obesity management and landmark anti-obesity drug trials (10, 11, 14, 19-21, 23, 25, 34, 35). The upper panel presents guideline thresholds for lifestyle intervention, pharmacotherapy (BMI ≥27 kg/m² with comorbidities or ≥30 kg/m²), and bariatric surgery (BMI ≥35–40 kg/m² depending on comorbidity status). The lower panel displays key clinical trials supporting the approval of six anti-obesity agents, indicating sample size, mean baseline BMI (entire group or active group), and weight loss outcomes (%WL unless otherwise stated) in both the active and placebo arms.

Figure 2
Bar chart comparing weight loss efficacy of different medications: Orlistat, Phentermine/topiramate, Naltrexone/bupropion, Liraglutide, Semaglutide, and Tirzepatide. Categories include less than five percent, equal or above ten percent, and equal or above fifteen percent weight loss, with varying percentages highlighted for each medication. Tirzepatide shows the highest percentages across categories.

Figure 2. Weight loss response per anti-obesity drug (19-21, 23, 25, 34, 35). This figure indicates the percentage of patients that achieve the weight loss targets of at least 5%, 10% and 15% per anti-obesity medication.

Figure 3
Flowchart illustrating initial classification and therapy selection for metabolic and behavioral phenotypes. It begins with classifying the primary phenotype into metabolic or behavioral categories. For metabolic phenotype, start with gut hormone-based therapies; for behavioral, use central-acting therapies. Step two evaluates treatment progress: if weight loss is less than five percent, switch therapy; if five percent or more, continue therapy, or combine therapies if treatment goals are unmet. Step three, if goals remain unmet, consider metabolic surgery. All therapies include lifestyle modification.

Figure 3. Stepwise algorithm for personalized obesity pharmacotherapy A proposed treatment algorithm integrating patient phenotypes, comorbidities, and treatment responses to guide personalized obesity management for patients who do not meet the criteria for metabolic surgery or have contraindications or not open to this option. The algorithm begins with lifestyle modification as the foundation, followed by phenotype-driven pharmacotherapy selection—gut hormone-based therapy for metabolic comorbidities and centrally acting therapy for behavioral/psychological factors. Treatment response is evaluated after 3 months to determine the need for therapy adjustment, combination treatment, or escalation to bariatric surgery for non-responders.

The original version of this article has been updated.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Keywords: obesity, obesity pharmacotherapy, precision medicine, personalized treatment, combination therapy, weight management, weight loss

Citation: Steenackers N, Toumassian J, Deleus E, Mertens A, Lannoo M, Pazmino S, van Laar ADE, Van der Schueren B and Vangoitsenhoven R (2025) Correction: Pharmacotherapy for obesity: are we ready to select, tailor and combine pharmacotherapy to achieve more ambitious goals? Front. Endocrinol. 16:1656611. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1656611

Received: 30 June 2025; Accepted: 20 August 2025;
Published: 02 October 2025.

Approved by:

Frontiers Editorial Office, Frontiers Media SA, Switzerland

Copyright © 2025 Steenackers, Toumassian, Deleus, Mertens, Lannoo, Pazmino, van Laar, Van der Schueren and Vangoitsenhoven. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Roman Vangoitsenhoven, cm9tYW4udmFuZ29pdHNlbmhvdmVuQHV6bGV1dmVuLmJl

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.