The Obesity Management Centre at the Institute of Endocrinology in Prague, led by Dr Radka Taxová Braunerová, is an Adult COM in the Czech Republic. The multidisciplinary team includes five physicians, four dietitians, one psychologist, two nurses specialised in obesity medicine, two radiologists, and a collaborating physiotherapist, working together to deliver comprehensive assessment and personalised obesity care. The centre was previously led by Professor Vojtěch Hainer (1988-2002) and Professor Marie Kunešová (2003-2022).
Welcome, Dr Braunerová! What news and achievements from the past 12 months can you share from your COM?
Over the past year, our COM has been active across scientific publications, awards, and congress participation. Our team contributed to several high-impact papers, including:
- A Lancet pooled analysis of general and abdominal adiposity across eight world regions
- A Phase 2 trial of once-monthly maridebart cafraglutide for the treatment of obesity in The New England Journal of Medicine
- Two papers published in General Practitioner/Praktický Lékař (with English abstracts) – one on the development of obesity medicine as a new medical discipline and the other examining how the postgraduate education and obesity specialist may contribute to improving the care of a patient with obesity
- The manuscript of original paper entitled “Eating Inventory: Relations to sex, body adiposity and cardiometabolic health risks in a large cohort of adolescents” has been submitted for consideration of publication in Obesity Facts
- The review paper on resmetirom, beta-selective thyroid hormone receptor agonist which is the first specific drug for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitisa has been published in the December issue of DMEV-Diabetes, Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition/Diabetes, metabolismus, endokrinologie a výživa (with English abstract)
Members of our team have also received significant recognition. Dr Vojtěch Hainer and Dr Marie Kunešová were awarded honorary membership and the Golden Medal of the Czech Medical Association of J. E. Purkyně, and Dr Kunešová additionally received the Krahulec Award of the Slovak Obesity Association (in memoriam). We were active at ECO 2025 in Málaga, where our team presented work on waist-to-height ratio in 7-year-old Czech children (2008–2023), the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on child body weight in a 4-year follow-up study, and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 7-year-old Czech children between 2019–2023. We also contributed to national obesity and bariatric congresses in Tábor (2024) and Brno (2025).
Could you please describe the treatments and services your COM provides patients?
We provide a wide range of evidence-based obesity treatments, including medical nutrition therapy, pharmacotherapy, psychological assessment and support such as cognitive-behavioural modification and mindfulness, and physiotherapy delivered through our collaborating physiotherapist. Surgical treatment is available through our partnership with the OB Clinic in Prague.
Our approach is grounded in comprehensive assessment, using anthropometry, bioimpedance, DXA, indirect calorimetry, a one-week dietary record with PC-based evaluation, and validated psychological questionnaires including the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. These tools enable us to deliver personalised, patient-centred intervention strategies that address both physiological and psychosocial factors.
Thank you! What teaching, research, and innovation activities is your COM currently involved in?
Our COM has a long-standing commitment to teaching and training. Since 1993, we have run a one-week obesity management course, now delivered through the Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education. We also contribute to obesity courses offered by Charles University’s Faculty of Pharmacy and provide teaching for physicians preparing for certification in endocrinology and diabetology. Our research activities span several major areas. We contribute to WHO COSI, collaborate on research examining bone marrow adipose tissue as a novel parameter linked to bone and energy metabolism in obesity and type 2 diabetes (supported by the Czech Ministry of Health), and participate in two clinical trials investigating obesity management medications. We also continue to integrate psychological and metabolic assessment tools into our research to support innovation in obesity care.
What challenges and future priorities have you identified for your COM?
Our main current challenge is expanding our clinical team – particularly increasing the number of physicians and physiatrists – to meet growing service demand. Over the next three to five years, we aim to adopt new digital and data-driven technologies to enhance obesity assessment and treatment, strengthen collaboration across the Central European region, and continue contributing to WHO COSI. We plan to broaden our involvement in clinical trials and joint research initiatives, and we look forward to joining a future EASO COMs Summit.
This edition features the Obesity Management Centre at the Institute of Endocrinology in Prague, led by Radka Taxová Braunerová. The COM delivers comprehensive, multidisciplinary obesity care and has demonstrated strong scientific, educational, and clinical leadership over the past year through high-impact publications, national recognition, and active engagement at European and national congresses. We thank Dr Taxová Braunerová and her team for their continued contribution to the COMs network.
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