Executive summary: Guidelines (2013) for the management of overweight and obesity in adults

In 2008, the NHLBI initiated these guidelines by sponsoring rigorous systematic evidence reviews for each topic by expert panels convened to develop critical questions (CQs), interpret the evidence, and craft recommendations. In response to the 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine on the development of trustworthy clinical guidelines (1), the NHLBI Advisory Council recommended that the NHLBI focus specifically on reviewing the highest-quality evidence and partner with other organizations to develop recommendations (2,3). Accordingly, in June 2013 the NHLBI initiated collaboration with the ACC and AHA to work with other organizations to complete and publish the guidelines noted above and make them available to the widest possible constituency. Recognizing that the expert panels/work groups did not consider evidence beyond 2011 (except as specified in the methodology), the ACC, AHA and collaborating societies plan to begin updating these guidelines starting in 2014.