Obesity

Overweight and obesity are defined by the WHO as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to an individuals health.

Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer and while it was once an issue only in high income countries, overweight and obesity has now dramatically risen in low- and middle-income countries.Such countries are now facing a "double burden" of disease, for while they continue to deal with the problems of infectious disease and under-nutrition, they are also experiencing a rapid upsurge in chronic disease risk factors such as obesity and overweight, particularly in urban settings.

What is Obesity?

Obesity and overweight have in the last decade become a global problem - according to the World Health Organization (WHO) back in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults over the of age 15+ were overweight, at least 400 million adults were obese and at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight.

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Obesity in Pregnancy

Abdominal Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity, What Can be Done?

Obesity and Stress

Obesity and Depression

Obesity and Genetics

Obesity in Adults

Obesity Management

Obesity and Autism

Dieting for Obese Children

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What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?

Why is Visceral Fat Dangerous?

Obesity and Cancer

Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity and Sexual Health

Obesity and Periodontitis

Obesity and Fast Food

Obesity and Exercise

Obesity and Anesthesia

What is Obesity Paradox?

Obesity and Fractures

Obesity and Skin Problems

Obesity Epidemiology

Obesity and Arthritis

Obesity and Sleep

Causes of Obesity and Overweight

Obesity and Respiratory Disorders

Obesity in Children

Obesity and Infertility

Obesity and Hormones

Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity and Heart Disease

Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Gene (FTO)

Obesity and Blood Pressure

Latest Obesity News and Research

Early exposure to fat-related food smells increases lifelong obesity risk

Early exposure to fat-related food odors during development alters central sensory processing and metabolic regulation, independently of maternal obesity or nutrient intake. These sensory cues program long-term susceptibility to obesity, impaired thermogenesis, and altered brain responses to dietary fat in adulthood.

7 Dec 2025

Early reversal of unhealthy weight can protect the heart from higher childhood BMI

Overweight as a child is not necessarily a risk factor for heart attack later in life. If weight is normalized before adulthood, the heart seems unaffected by the higher childhood BMI, according to a study conducted at the University of Gothenburg.

5 Dec 2025

Higher PFAS levels reduce blood sugar improvements after teen bariatric surgery

A new USC study shows teens with higher blood levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) measured before bariatric surgery had smaller improvements in blood sugar over five years, including fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), which measures average blood sugar levels over the past 60-90 days.

4 Dec 2025

Study provides first molecular evidence that ferroptosis can drive neurodegeneration

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Technical University of Munich and the LMU University Hospital Munich uncovered a mechanism that protects nerve cells from premature cell death, known as ferroptosis.

4 Dec 2025

Bacterial enzyme linked to heart complications in pneumonia

Pneumonia is a disease that burdens the healthcare system with more that 1.2 million emergency room visits each year and more than 41,000 adult deaths in the United States.

4 Dec 2025

Emotional support in marriage associated with lower BMI and fewer food cravings

Strong social relationships, particularly high-quality marriages, may help protect against obesity by influencing a complex communication system between the brain and gut, according to new research by UCLA Health.

4 Dec 2025

New C-COMPASS software opens spatial proteomics and lipidomics to non-coders

A new tool developed by Helmholtz Munich and the German Center for Diabetes Research and the University of Bonn makes spatial proteomics and lipidomics easier to use – no coding required.

4 Dec 2025

Why soybean oil may fuel weight gain

Researchers investigate how soybean oil may disrupt fat metabolism to potentially increase the risk of obesity.

4 Dec 2025

Where you live affects your weight more than you think

Findings reveal a strong link between location and Body Mass Index, emphasizing the need for policies addressing food environments and health disparities.

4 Dec 2025

Preloading Instacart online grocery carts with healthy ingredients could help improve the diets of families

University at Buffalo researchers have shown that preloading Instacart online grocery carts with healthy ingredients could be a useful tool for improving the diets of families with young kids at risk for obesity.

4 Dec 2025

Study opens up new perspectives for targeted care of women with gestational diabetes

An international research team led by the Medical University of Vienna has shown that continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in women with gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of a newborn with above-average birth weight.

4 Dec 2025

Obesity-driven estrone emerges as a key driver of deadly postmenopausal breast cancer

A new analysis of research into the most common type of breast cancer has zeroed in on an overlooked hormone that may be responsible for the increased risk of breast cancer death in post-menopausal women with obesity.

2 Dec 2025

Alzheimer's disease blood biomarkers increase up to 95% faster in obese individuals

Researchers have conducted the first study evaluating the impact of obesity on Alzheimer's disease blood biomarkers (BBMs).

2 Dec 2025

Study finds measurable influence of living environment on body weight

A Curtin University-led study has found that where Australians live has a measurable influence on their body weight, with local food environments and neighbourhood design playing a big part in shaping health outcomes.

2 Dec 2025

WHO releases first guideline on the use of GLP-1 therapies for treating obesity

To address the growing global health challenge of obesity, which affects more than 1 billion people, the World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first guideline on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity as a chronic, relapsing disease.

2 Dec 2025

Generative AI aids discovery of ISM3830's novel scaffold

Casitas B-lineage lymphoma-b (CBLB) is an E3 ubiquitin–protein ligase that functions as an intracellular checkpoint and master negative regulator of T‑cell and natural killer (NK) cell activation, playing a central role in modulating T-cell activation and immune tolerance, and its inhibition enhances T cells and NK cells function, also provides a strategy for the function restoration of exhausted T cells.

1 Dec 2025