The American Board of Obesity Medicine (ABOM) today released an enhanced content outline and new blueprint for the obesity medicine certification exam. This comprehensive document, which outlines the specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities required by obesity medicine physicians, will serve as the foundation for certification exams starting with the October 2025 exam. The content outline and exam blueprint are now available to diplomates and exam candidates on the ABOM website.
As the sole entity overseeing certification of obesity medicine physicians in the United States and Canada, ABOM is responsible for identifying the substance and defining the boundaries of the field of obesity medicine. Over the course of the last 18 months, ABOM employed a comprehensive, multi-step process to understand and describe the current body of knowledge for obesity medicine given the substantial changes in clinical practice since the field’s inception.
“The new content outline represents a huge step forward for the board and the field of obesity medicine in general,” said ABOM Board Chair Dr. Judith Korner, MD, PhD. “It provides a clear answer to the question of what an obesity medicine physician does and delineates the expertise required to practice competent obesity care.”
The new document was created through a rigorous practice analysis process conducted by subject matter experts followed by a validation survey of over 700 practicing obesity medicine physicians. Under the guidance of psychometricians from Professional Testing, Inc., this process yielded an updated document with content that is significantly more detailed than the previous iteration. The new outline not only describes the topics covered on the exam as in previous versions, but it also provides a framework for a thorough description of the duties of an obesity medicine physician.
The content outline is divided into three primary domains:
- Evaluating and diagnosing patients with obesity
- Treating patients with obesity
- Practicing obesity medicine with professionalism
Under each domain, related tasks are identified, specific steps to accomplish the tasks are defined, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to complete each task are delineated. The image below illustrates how each task is detailed in the new, 39-page content outline.
Interested in learning more about the new content outline? During a November 5 session at ObestiyWeek® in San Antonio, ABOM Diplomate Dr. Edmond “Trey” Wickham will present an in-depth look at how the new outline was developed. To access the complete document including the content outline and exam blueprint click the button below.
Download Content Outline/Exam Blueprint