This Meet the COMs edition features the Obesity Unit at ServiDigest Clinic of Barcelona – Department of Metabolism, Nutrition and Obesity, led by Dr Josep Merlo Mas. ServiDigest Clinic is a medical-surgical centre for digestive and metabolic diseases, with specialist expertise in obesity, metabolism and nutrition.
Welcome, Dr Merlo Mas! Could you please describe the multidisciplinary medical-surgical model at ServiDigest, and how this shapes care for patients?
Our COM offers patients with obesity an individualised, comprehensive, multidisciplinary and evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic approach, aligned with national and international scientific guidelines and societies. We have specialists in endocrinology, nutrition and dietetics, clinical psychology, psychiatry, bariatric and metabolic endoscopy, bariatric and metabolic surgery, and physical activity. This team allows us to move beyond a focus on body weight alone, considering metabolic health, body composition, muscle function, obesity-related complications and individual circumstances.
Services include body composition analysis, dynamometry, abdominal ultrasound for obesity and nutrition, FibroScan and CAP, medical nutritional treatment, pharmacological treatment, psychological evaluation and support, behaviour modification, physical activity guidance, telemedicine, digital follow-up, bariatric and metabolic endoscopy, and bariatric and metabolic surgery where appropriate.
Follow-up and monitoring protocols are an important part of our model, allowing us to review the clinical evolution of patients and the results obtained with prescribed treatments. Our consistently positive audit and survey results reflect strong patient satisfaction across healthcare and administrative services, alongside Joint Commission International quality and patient safety indicators.
Which recent achievements of your COM would you like to share?
Becoming an EASO COM in May 2026 was an important milestone, building on our previous accreditation by SEEDO. Other recent achievements by our team include:
- Involvement in founding the SEEDO Multidisciplinary Working Group on Endoscopy, Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery (EBAME), established in 2022
- Contribution to the EBAME-SEEDO consensus document, “Guidelines for Nutritional Support and Physical Activity in Endoscopic Treatments for Obesity”
- Co-authorship of part of the SEEDO “Obesity Update Course”, focused on invasive and interventional treatments for obesity
- Presenting a scientific communication comparing intragastric balloon and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty using the Apollo method, with one-year follow-up at ECO2025 in Málaga
- Continued contribution to “COM VIURE”, the free print and online institutional magazine published by Clínica ServiDigest and Fundació ServiDigest, disseminating information on digestive health, metabolism, nutrition and obesity
Education on obesity seems central to your COM’s public engagement. What activities have you organised in this area?
One of our main objectives is raising awareness of obesity as a chronic, multifactorial, relapsing disease and supporting personalised treatment through a multidisciplinary team. To mark World Obesity Day on 4th March 2026, we organised the 1st Overweight and Obesity Conference at ServiDigest Clinic in Barcelona, an open and free event helping participants understand their health status and body beyond body weight. The Nutrition Service team carried out body composition studies using bioelectrical impedance analysis and muscle function assessments using dynamometry, with results interpreted by the Endocrinology Service medical team. In May 2026, we held the 2nd edition of this event – over 230 delegates participated in personalised health studies across both. In June 2026, we also organised a webinar on bariatric and metabolic endoscopy, presenting minimally invasive endoscopic options for people living with obesity and related conditions.
Is your COM currently involved in any research projects? Could you tell us about them?
We are involved in several current studies focused on multidisciplinary obesity care, endoscopic treatment pathways and pharmacological treatment combinations. These include:
- Prospective studies of pharmacological therapeutic combinations with GLP-1 analogues, including liraglutide and semaglutide, and the dual agonist tirzepatide, following endoscopic gastroplasty and after removal of the endoscopic intragastric balloon, led by the EBAME-SEEDO Group
- The IMPROVE Project, a national multicentre cross-sectional study analysing the Obesity Registry, sponsored by SEEDO and the Spanish Society of Healthcare Managers (SEDISA)
- The BE-COM-S study, examining patient profiles, treatment descriptions, weight loss patterns and satisfaction among people with obesity attending accredited SEEDO COMs
How does your COM support education and continuing scientific training for staff, students, patients and healthcare professionals?
ServiDigest Clinic and Fundació ServiDigest have a firm commitment to education, training and research in obesity. Our combined Continuing Scientific Education Programme includes internal courses, workshops, webinars and weekly scientific-training sessions, as well as external training through congresses, symposia, courses and webinars. We support team member participation in national and international courses and congresses, and our team actively participate in the scientific, educational, teaching and research activities of the clinic’s wider Training, Teaching and Research Programme. We conduct monthly educational webinars, aimed at patients and HCPs, covering topics such as metabolism and nutrition. In addition, we have teaching collaboration agreements with the Blanquerna Faculty of Health Sciences at Ramon Llull University in Barcelona and the University School of Health Sciences at the University of Vic. These agreements enable students in Human Nutrition and Dietetics to complete practical training within our Obesity Unit and Department of Metabolism and Nutrition.
Looking ahead, what are the main challenges and priorities for the Obesity Unit over the next few years?
One of our main challenges is to continue improving education for both the public and HCPs on obesity as a chronic disease. We aim to keep contributing, through our resources, to prevention and to personalised treatment of people living with overweight and obesity.
Over the next 3-5 years, our goals are: to continue collaborating with SEEDO and the EASO COMs network for the benefit of people living with obesity; strengthen our Continuing Scientific Training Programme; maintain and develop Joint Commission International quality and patient safety protocols; strengthen our Teaching and Scientific Department, and establish new university agreements with Faculties of Health Sciences. Currently, our centre’s innovation is supported by structured data collection and management systems, including shared electronic health records, computer systems in all departments, recording and coding of clinical results, use of databases for continuous improvement and research, and the progressive implementation of artificial intelligence across departments, and we aim to continue integrating new technologies into our healthcare services.
This edition highlights the Obesity Unit at ServiDigest Clinic of Barcelona, led by Dr Josep Merlo Mas. The COM provides multidisciplinary obesity care supported by strong quality and patient safety systems, and contributes to SEEDO consensus work, ECO research, public education, training and innovation. Thank you to Dr Merlo Mas and the ServiDigest Clinic Obesity Unit team for participating in the Meet the COMs initiative.
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