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Fast food’s grip on American diets weakens as younger adults cut back

About one-third of U.S. adults consumed fast food on a given day between 2021 and 2023, with an average of 11.7% of daily calories coming from it. Intake has declined from 14.1% in 2013–14, driven mainly by reduced consumption among younger adults.

11 Sep 2025

Scientists uncover brain circuit that turns cravings into eating behavior

Researchers found that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis integrates pleasure signals from central amygdala prodynorphin neurons and hunger signals from agouti-related peptide neurons to drive consumption. Manipulating this bed nucleus of the stria terminalis circuit bidirectionally altered food intake and body weight in mice.

11 Sep 2025

Study challenges conventional thinking about the onset of Type 2 diabetes

A study from The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center indicates that changes in the body that lead to Type 2 diabetes occur long before current diagnostic thresholds for prediabetes are met.

11 Sep 2025

Mapping the evolutionary trajectory of meningiomas at single-cell resolution

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumors, accounting for nearly one-third of all central nervous system (CNS) tumors.

11 Sep 2025

Climate activists cite health hazards in bid to stop Trump from ‘unleashing’ fossil fuels

In 2023, a group of 16 young Montanans won a much-heralded climate change case that said the state had deprived them of a "clean and healthful environment," a right enshrined in Montana's constitution.

11 Sep 2025

Toddlers exposed to the COVID pandemic show fewer behavioral problems

A study finds that toddlers exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic showed fewer behavioral issues, suggesting hidden resilience factors in diverse family backgrounds.

11 Sep 2025

Treating opioid use disorder during incarceration improves post-release outcomes

A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD.

11 Sep 2025

Harnessing the power of AI to boost HPV vaccine uptake among teens

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is one of the few vaccines proven to prevent cancer-so why have only 61% of teens 13-17 and far lower percentages of younger children received the potentially life-saving shots?

11 Sep 2025

Study quantifies the prevalence of suicidal thoughts among university students

The university stage, particularly its beginning, is a time of tension and emotional stress for young students-many of whom are under the age of 20.

11 Sep 2025

AI rollout in NHS hospitals faces major challenges

Implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into NHS hospitals is far harder than initially anticipated, with complications around governance, contracts, data collection, harmonisation with old IT systems, finding the right AI tools and staff training, finds a major new UK study led by UCL researchers.

10 Sep 2025

Experts warn tiny plastics in arteries may raise heart attack risk

Experts caution that nanoplastics and microplastics may constitute an emerging cardiovascular risk factor, with particles identified in arterial plaques associated with a 4.5-fold increase in major adverse cardiovascular events. Experimental evidence points to inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular injury as key mechanisms.

10 Sep 2025

Early parent-focused programs fail to reduce childhood obesity by age two

Existing approaches to parent-focused behavioral programs delivered up to 12 months of age which aim to combat childhood obesity are insufficient to improve body mass index (BMI) at approximately two years of age, according to the largest study to date on the topic published in The Lancet.

10 Sep 2025

Can cannabis use disrupt women’s fertility? New study finds strong evidence

Researchers found that THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, alters oocyte gene expression, spindle formation, and chromosome segregation, lowering embryo euploidy rates in IVF. This provides direct human evidence linking cannabis exposure to impaired female fertility outcomes.

10 Sep 2025

Specific microbial changes linked to poor growth in children

Malnutrition is responsible for more than half of all deaths in children under the age of five worldwide.

10 Sep 2025

Precision nutrition offers new pathways to slow biological aging

Diet doesn't just fuel the body, it sends molecular signals that can slow down or speed up biological aging, according to a new perspective in npj Aging (Nature Portfolio).

10 Sep 2025

RFK Jr. said ‘everybody can get’ a covid vaccine. Is that true?

When health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee on Sept. 4, several senators criticized him for restricting the covid-19 shots after promising in November he wouldn't “take away anybody's vaccines.”

10 Sep 2025

Lice pose no health threat, yet some parents push back on rules to allow affected kids in class

Any evidence of lice was once a reason for immediate dismissal from school, not to return until the student's head was lice-free.

10 Sep 2025

New Center for SUNSHINE aims to build aging resilience

America's population is the oldest it has ever been. And though older people are more independent than ever, they face a huge care gap, one that challenges families, communities and healthcare systems.

9 Sep 2025

Global climate warming fuels rising dengue burden across Asia and the Americas

Warmer weather across the globe is reshaping the landscape of human health. Case in point: dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease once confined largely to the tropics which often brings flu-like symptoms and without proper medical care can escalate to severe bleeding, organ failure, and even death.

9 Sep 2025

Kids with fluctuating gut microbiome show poorer growth

Malnutrition is a leading cause of death in children under age 5, and nearly 150 million children globally under this age have stunted growth from lack of nutrition.

9 Sep 2025