Body Mass Index (BMI) News and Research

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure that relates body weight to height. BMI is sometimes used to measure total body fat and whether a person is a healthy weight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart disease and some cancers.

AI spots hidden diabetes risk even when test results look normal

Researchers used continuous glucose monitoring and multimodal data from over 3,000 people to reveal hidden patterns in glucose spikes across normoglycemia, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes. Their AI-driven model exposed high individual variability and offers a personalized path for early detection and prevention of diabetes.

3 Aug 2025

Eating meals earlier could help people at high obesity risk

Research indicates that early eating habits may lower genetic obesity risk, enhancing weight loss maintenance in at-risk adults after dietary treatments.

30 Jul 2025

Prenatal phthalates lower boys' verbal IQ but lift girls' performance IQ, Canadian study reveals

Prenatal exposure to certain phthalates, especially DiDP, was linked to slightly lower IQ scores in preschoolers, with boys appearing more vulnerable. Other phthalates, like MMP and MBzP, showed small positive associations, but mixture effects were not significant.

29 Jul 2025

Body fat percentage outperforms BMI in predicting early mortality

Although body mass index (BMI) is widely used in clinics as the standard measure of body composition, it can potentially misclassify muscular individuals as overweight and miss cases of "normal-weight obesity," masking serious metabolic and heart disease risks.

29 Jul 2025

Moderate coffee and tea habits linked to sharper thinking in seniors

Moderate coffee intake and both moderate and high tea consumption are associated with a slower decline in fluid intelligence among older adults over nearly a decade. High coffee intake, however, is linked to a faster decline in cognitive function.

28 Jul 2025

Heavy smoking linked to atrophy in Alzheimer’s brain regions

MRI findings indicate that smoking is linked to reduced brain volume, raising concerns about dementia risk, especially with higher body mass index.

25 Jul 2025

What happens to your weight after quitting GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs?

Stopping anti-obesity medications leads to significant weight regain, starting as early as eight weeks and stabilizing by six months. Despite this rebound, most patients maintain some weight loss compared to baseline a year after discontinuation.

23 Jul 2025

Liupao tea improves metabolic syndrome risks in clinical trial

Liupao tea shows promise in improving metabolic syndrome markers, enhancing heart health and gut balance in just three months, according to recent research.

23 Jul 2025

Extreme childhood obesity drives liver and diabetes risks

Extreme obesity in US youth has risen significantly, linked to higher rates of diabetes and liver complications, necessitating immediate public health action.

22 Jul 2025

Sperm RNA profiles could identify the best embryos for IVF

Findings on sperm RNA suggest new biomarkers for IVF success, potentially improving embryo selection and reducing cycles needed for desired fertility outcomes.

21 Jul 2025

Why obesity spikes with wealth: The real culprit is on your plate

Economic development drives higher obesity rates worldwide, but not because people move less. Instead, rising consumption of ultraprocessed foods plays a much bigger role than declining physical activity in the global obesity crisis.

20 Jul 2025

Boosting gut-friendly foods may slow biological aging, large US study finds

Higher scores on a dietary index linked to gut microbiota health are associated with slower biological aging in US adults, according to a large cross-sectional NHANES study. The findings suggest that improving diet quality for gut microbial diversity may help reduce age-related disease risk.

20 Jul 2025

Parental cholesterol predicts asthma severity in children

Parental metabolic health influences childhood asthma severity, with paternal cholesterol showing modest protective effects against exacerbating symptoms.

18 Jul 2025

Research challenges view on physical activity and global obesity crisis

A newly released study from Duke University's Pontzer Lab, housed in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, looks at the correlations between economic development, daily energy expenditure and the rise in a country's obesity level.

18 Jul 2025

Childhood heart health predicts lifelong well-being, study finds

Optimal heart health from birth through adolescence, as measured by a combination of metrics, leads to long-lasting cardiovascular and overall physical, cognitive and mental health, according to the systematic review published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

16 Jul 2025

Long sitting hours raise breast cancer odds for inactive obese women

Prolonged daily sitting is linked to a higher prevalence of breast cancer in obese women, but only among those who are physically inactive. Regular physical activity eliminates this association, highlighting the importance of movement for breast cancer prevention in high-risk groups.

15 Jul 2025

Canadian obesity trends accelerated after the start of COVID-19 pandemic

Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect obesity rates in Canada? A new study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.241421 found obesity rates based on body mass index (BMI) increased faster in the 4 years after the start of the pandemic than in the previous 11 years, especially in younger adults.

14 Jul 2025

New guideline recommends proper preconception care for women with diabetes

A joint guideline released today from the Endocrine Society and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) recommends women with diabetes receive proper preconception care and access to emerging diabetes technology and therapeutics to manage their blood sugar before, during and after pregnancy.

13 Jul 2025

How five months in Tibet changed the heart and lungs of Beijing workers

Long-term exposure to very high altitude significantly reduces cardiopulmonary function in healthy adults from lowland regions, as shown by declines in aerobic capacity and efficiency after five months in Lhasa, China.

13 Jul 2025

Early-onset diabetes rates soar among young adults in Sweden

Early-onset type 2 diabetes nearly doubled in Sweden between 2006 and 2021, with the sharpest increases among young adults, ethnic minorities, and those with lower education. Projections show early-onset T2D could triple by 2050, posing a major public health challenge.

10 Jul 2025