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Semaglutide significantly reduces obesity in treatment-resistant young adults

A weekly dose of semaglutide (2.4 mg) leads to a clinically significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) and related health outcomes in young adults with severe obesity who are treatment resistant following hospital-based non-pharmacological obesity care during childhood, according to a randomized controlled trial being presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Istanbul, Turkey (12-15 May).

13 May 2026

Global hypertension burden rising sharply in lower-income countries

In theory, hypertension is a disease that is both easy to test for and readily treatable with existing medications and lifestyle interventions.

13 May 2026

Large human islet study reveals new insights into diabetes risk

Diabetes is the most common and serious chronic disease worldwide, characterized by insufficient insulin to maintain proper blood glucose levels.

12 May 2026

A century of safety: Aluminium vaccine adjuvants do not raise serious long-term health risks

A BMJ systematic review of 59 human studies found no evidence supporting causal links between aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines and serious or long-term outcomes such as autism spectrum disorder, asthma, autoimmune conditions, or other chronic illnesses. The most consistent adverse events were uncommon, local, self-limited persistent nodules or granulomas, likely reflecting delayed-type hypersensitivity.

11 May 2026

Urges for cardiologists to screen patients for UPF intake

The European Society of Cardiology identifies ultra-processed foods as a key cardiovascular risk, urging a shift in dietary guidelines for better heart health.

11 May 2026

Birth weight predicts kidney function during endurance exercise

Researchers investigate how birth weight determines kidney function changes following prolonged physical activity in different environmental conditions.

7 May 2026

New blood test predicts illness progression and treatment response

Scientists are developing a test which could one day be used to predict how a patient's illness will progress, and even how well they will respond to treatment.

6 May 2026

Bariatric surgery offers greater long-term health protection for seniors than GLP-1 drugs

Metabolic and bariatric surgery offers significantly greater long-term protection against heart attack, stroke and death than widely-used GLP-1 drugs in older adults with obesity and diabetes, according to new real-world analysis study presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

6 May 2026

Asthma-Friendly Schools recognition program expands across Colorado districts

A total of 221 schools across early childhood, elementary, middle and high school levels have earned Colorado Asthma-Friendly School recognition.

5 May 2026

U.S. bariatric surgery rates drop significantly amid GLP-1 surge

The number of metabolic and bariatric surgery procedures in the United States dropped below 200,000 in 2024 for the first time since 2020, a more than 20% decline from the prior year, according to new research presented today at the annual scientific meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

5 May 2026

Bariatric surgery improves outcomes for patients with obesity and chronic kidney disease

Metabolic and bariatric surgery, also known as weight-loss surgery, dramatically improves outcomes for patients with obesity and chronic kidney disease (CKD), significantly reducing the risk of kidney failure, major cardiovascular events and death, according to new research presented here today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

5 May 2026

Bariatric surgery costs significantly less than GLP-1 drugs over two years

A new real-world analysis of more than 90,000 patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes finds metabolic and bariatric surgery is costs significantly less than weekly injections of GLP-1 drugs over a two-year period, according to a new research presented today at the annual scientific meeting of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

5 May 2026

Five diet patterns shaping health in older Americans

Research identifies distinct dietary patterns in older adults, revealing how nutrition impacts health outcomes and food security among this vulnerable group.

4 May 2026

Child health experts launch GenHEART to tackle Australia's obesity crisis

Heart health, diet, exercise and sleep will be targeted under a multi-pronged strategy by child health experts to address Australia's obesity crisis.

4 May 2026

American Heart Association warns of growing health care cost crisis

With health care costs constituting a major source of concern across the U.S., the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone, everywhere, today released a Presidential Advisory warning that health care affordability in this country has reached crisis levels and outlining key principles to address the problem.

30 Apr 2026

Study suggests a U-shaped link between cholesterol levels and mortality among Chinese adults

A new commentary published in Engineering highlights key findings from a large multinational cohort study that re-evaluates cholesterol management for cardiovascular and chronic disease prevention, suggesting a U-shaped association between cholesterol levels and mortality among Chinese adults that challenges the conventional "lower is better" approach.

28 Apr 2026

Did life-saving HIV drugs unintentionally fuel a syphilis comeback?

The introduction of HAART for HIV has coincided with a syphilis resurgence, suggesting unintended public health trade-offs from this medical breakthrough.

27 Apr 2026

APOLLO AI learns from 25 billion medical events to predict future disease

APOLLO is a multimodal temporal foundation model trained on 25.2 billion medical events from 7.2 million patients across 33 years of Mass General Brigham records, integrating 28 medical modalities into unified “virtual patient representations.” Across 322 downstream tasks, the model showed strong performance in disease prediction, treatment-response stratification, hospital operations, and patient retrieval, supporting the idea of more computable, data-driven medicine.

23 Apr 2026

Tirzepatide vs. semaglutide: Study compares cost and health outcomes in obesity

In a US societal-perspective lifetime simulation based on SURMOUNT-5 data, tirzepatide was projected to deliver lower total costs and better health outcomes than semaglutide for adults with obesity or overweight without type 2 diabetes.

22 Apr 2026

Fitness in midlife extends health span and overall life expectancy

How fit you are in midlife may help determine not just how long you live, but how many of those years are spent in good health, according to a new study published today in the JACC, the flagship journal of the American College of Cardiology.

22 Apr 2026