Obesity News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

The Hunger Switch in Your Nose: How Smells Tell Your Brain to Stop Eating

June 12, 2025 — A team of scientists has discovered a direct link between the smell of food and feelings of fullness at least in lean mice. This brain circuit, located in the medial septum and triggered by food odors, helps animals eat less by making them feel ...

Beyond Ozempic: New Weight Loss Drug Rivals Surgery

June 12, 2025 — Tufts University scientists are aiming to revolutionize the future of weight loss drugs by engineering a new compound that targets four gut hormones instead of the usual one to three. These next-gen tetra-functional peptides may overcome the ...

This "Healthy" Fat May Secretly Be Fueling Obesity

June 11, 2025 — A popular fat found in olive oil may not be as innocent as it seems. Scientists discovered that oleic acid, a major component of many high-fat foods, uniquely spurs the growth of new fat cells by manipulating specific proteins in the body. Unlike ...

Why Your Diet Might Be Making You Sad--Especially If You're a Man

June 7, 2025 — New research reveals a surprising downside to calorie-cutting diets: a link to higher levels of depressive symptoms, especially in men and those who are overweight. Despite popular beliefs that healthy eating boosts mental wellness, real-life ...

Mediterranean Diet Provides Symptom Relief for Patients With IBS in Pilot Study

May 30, 2025 — In a comparative pilot study, the Mediterranean diet and the low FODMAP diet both provided relief for patients with ...

Newly Identified Group of Nerve Cells in the Brain Regulates Bodyweight

May 28, 2025 — Obesity is a global health problem that affects many people. In recent years, very promising anti-obesity drugs have been developed. Despite these successes, there are patients who do not respond to these drugs or suffer from side effects. ...

A High-Fat Diet Sets Off Metabolic Dysfunction in Cells, Leading to Weight Gain

May 28, 2025 — Researchers find high-fat diets set off metabolic dysfunction in cells, leading to weight gain, but these effects can be reversed by treatment with an ...

Boys Who Are Overweight in Their Early Teens Risk Passing on Harmful Epigenetic Traits to Future Children

May 27, 2025 — A new study suggests that boys who become overweight in their early teens risk damaging the genes of their future children, increasing their chances of developing asthma, obesity and low lung ...

Weight Loss Linked to Nerve Cells in the Brain

May 27, 2025 — A specific group of nerve cells in the brain stem appears to control how semaglutide affects appetite and weight -- without causing ...

The Dietary Bug in a Cancer Therapy

May 21, 2025 — A study has uncovered a surprising link between diet, intestinal microbes and the efficacy of cancer ...

Gut Bacteria and Acetate, a Great Combination for Weight Loss

May 19, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new way to reduce obesity. Supplying the gut with extra acetate reduces fat and liver mass in both normal and obese mice, as long as bacteria of the Bacteroides species is also present. When both these conditions are ...

Scientists Discover Key Gene Impacts Liver Energy Storage, Affecting Metabolic Disease Risk

May 16, 2025 — A new study reveals that a single gene plays a big role in how the liver stores energy, a process that's critical for overall health and for managing diseases like type 2 diabetes. The research ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:35am EDT

Can the Brain Be Targeted to Treat Type 2 Diabetes?

May 15, 2025 — Successfully treating type 2 diabetes may involve focusing on brain neurons, rather than simply concentrating on obesity or insulin resistance, according to a new study. For several years, ...

Seek Medical Advice Before Attempting Water-Only Fasting Diets, Experts Warn

May 13, 2025 — Experts are urging people, especially those with existing heart or vascular conditions, to seek medical advice before attempting to lose weight using ...

Colonic Inflammation Explains Missing Link Between Obesity and Beta-Cell Proliferation

May 9, 2025 — How does obesity affect insulin production? Researchers are shining light on new stages of the ERK ...

Obesity a Leading Cause of Knee Osteoarthritis

May 7, 2025 — New research reveals that obesity, having a knee injury and occupational risks such as shift work and lifting heavy loads are primary causes of knee ...

A Healthy Diet in Childhood Is Linked to Starting Menstrual Periods Later, Regardless of BMI or Height

May 6, 2025 — Eating a healthy diet as a child is linked to girls having their first menstrual period at an older age than those who consumed a less healthy diet, ...

Seasonal Changes Affect Alcohol Tolerance and Your Waistline

Apr. 30, 2025 — Researchers have found that drug effectiveness, alcohol tolerance, and carbohydrate metabolism change with the seasons. Their findings are based on a comprehensive seasonal gene expression map, which ...

Drug Combination Reduces Breast Cancer Risk and Improves Metabolic Health in Rats

Apr. 28, 2025 — Researchers investigated the combined effects of bazedoxifene and conjugated estrogens in rat models as an alternative to ...

United States Sees Disproportionate Increase in Body Mass Index Rates of More Than 60

Apr. 28, 2025 — In the past 20 years, the average rate of obesity among adults in the United States has risen by approximately 30 percent, but the rate of those with ...

High-Fat, High-Sugar Diets Impact Cognitive Function

Apr. 21, 2025 — New research links fatty, sugary diets to impaired brain function. The findings build on a growing body of evidence showing the negative impact of high-fat, high-sugar (HFHS) diets on cognitive ...

Omnivorous? Vegan? Makes No Difference to Muscle Building After Weight Training, Study Finds

Apr. 21, 2025 — A new study asked three questions about muscle protein synthesis in response to a nine-day diet and weight training regimen: First, does the source ...

Long-Term Effects of Obesity on Brain and Cognitive Health

Apr. 9, 2025 — With the global prevalence of obesity on the rise, it is crucial to explore the neural mechanisms linked to obesity and its influence on brain and cognitive health. However, the impact of obesity on ...

Carb Restriction Offers Relief from Calorie Counting

Apr. 8, 2025 — The intermittent fasting diet, which involves periods of severe calorie restriction, may be on the way out, as research is suggesting that rather than drastically reducing calories, people can ...

CVD and Obesity: When Protective Lipids Decline, Health Risks Increase

Apr. 8, 2025 — New research has uncovered a surprising culprit underlying cardiovascular diseases in obesity and diabetes -- not the presence of certain fats, but their suppression. The study challenges the ...

Planetary Health Diet and Mediterranean Diet Associated With Similar Survival and Sustainability Benefits

Apr. 4, 2025 — A cohort study was conducted in Spain to compare the health and environmental benefits of the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) and the Mediterranean Diet. Compared to participants with low adherence, ...

Western Diet Causes Inflammation, Traditional African Food Protects

Apr. 3, 2025 — A switch of just two weeks from a traditional African diet to a Western diet causes inflammation, reduces the immune response to pathogens, and activates processes associated with lifestyle diseases. ...

When It Comes to Obesity-Related Cancers, Where You Shop for Food Matters

Apr. 2, 2025 — Obesity is at epidemic proportions in the United States where more than 40% of adults are obese and more than 70% are overweight. One common policy intervention to tackle this urgent issue is to try ...

How Time-Restricted Eating Affects Weight Loss

Mar. 26, 2025 — A new study indicates that when healthy adults pair an eight-hour eating window with regular exercise, they lose more fat -- without sacrificing lean muscle -- compared to exercise ...

Children of Moms Who Smoked or Were Obese Are More Likely to Become Obese Adults

Mar. 26, 2025 — A study finds that factors beyond a person's control, like socioeconomic status and whether their mom smoked or was obese, can influence whether they are overweight or obese as teenagers or ...

Scientists Discover Why Obesity Takes Away the Pleasure of Eating

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many obese people report losing pleasure in eating rich foods -- something also seen in obese mice. Scientists have now discovered the reason. Long-term high-fat diets lower levels of neurotensin in ...

Slowing Down to Eat Less: Towards Simple Strategies for Obesity Prevention

Mar. 25, 2025 — Obesity prevention strategies often focus on diet, but eating behaviors also play a key role. In a recent study, researchers from Japan investigated factors influencing meal duration, including sex ...

Mother's High-Fat Diet Can Cause Liver Stress in Fetus

Mar. 13, 2025 — When mothers eat a diet high in fat and sugars, their unborn babies can develop liver stress that continues into early life. A new study sheds light on changes to the fetus's bile acid, which ...

Two-Thirds of Children Classified BMI-Overweight Had Normal Fat Estimated With Waist-to-Height Ratio

Mar. 12, 2025 — Body mass index (BMI) was almost three times more likely to classify children as overweight than waist circumference-to-height ratio, according to a new ...

Weight Loss Increases Risk of Early Death for Obese Adults

Mar. 12, 2025 — New research has found for the first time that extreme weight fluctuations in obese individuals with cardiovascular disease significantly increases the risk of death -- with weight loss as well as ...

Chronic Stress and Obesity Work Together to Accelerate Pancreatic Cancer Development and Growth, Study Finds

Mar. 10, 2025 — A new study suggests that chronic stress and an unhealthy diet may work together to fuel the early development of pancreatic cancer, shedding light on how lifestyle factors contribute to one of the ...

Memory Is Impaired in Aged Rats After 3 Days of High-Fat Eating

Mar. 6, 2025 — Just a few days of eating a diet high in saturated fat could be enough to cause memory problems and related brain inflammation in older adults, a new study in rats ...

Scientists Identify Genes That Make Humans and Labradors More Likely to Become Obese

Mar. 6, 2025 — Researchers have discovered genes linked to obesity in both Labradors and humans. They say the effects can be over-ridden with a strict diet and exercise ...

Obesity: Researchers Discover a Cause of Leptin Resistance -- And How to Reverse It

Mar. 4, 2025 — Most obese patients grow resistant to satiety signals from the hormone leptin. A new study shows that leptin sensitivity can be restored in mice, leading to weight ...

A Third of Children Worldwide Forecast to Be Obese or Overweight by 2050

Mar. 3, 2025 — Obesity rates are set to skyrocket, with one in six children and adolescents worldwide forecast to be obese by 2050, according to a new study. But with significant increases predicted within the next ...

How a Low-Carb Diet Can Drive Colorectal Cancer Development

Mar. 3, 2025 — Researchers have shown how a low carbohydrate diet can worsen the DNA-damaging effects of some gut microbes to cause colorectal cancer. The study compared the effects of three different diets in ...

How to Trick the Body's Metabolism

Mar. 3, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new way in which the liver regulates its consumption of sugar and fat. This could potentially increase the effectiveness of weight-loss and diabetes ...