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.

Abdominal Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity, What Can be Done?

Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Obesity and Skin Problems

Obesity and Infertility

Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Gene (FTO)

Causes of Obesity and Overweight

Obesity and Anesthesia

Obesity and Hormones

Obesity Epidemiology

Obesity and Cancer

See more featured articles »

Obesity and Fast Food

Obesity in Adults

Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity Management

Obesity and Sexual Health

Obesity and Autism

What is Obesity Paradox?

What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?

Obesity and Respiratory Disorders

Dieting for Obese Children

Obesity and Stress

What does Sleeve Gastrectomy Involve?

Obesity and Depression

Obesity in Pregnancy

Obesity and Blood Pressure

Obesity and Heart Disease

Obesity and Fractures

Obesity in Children

Obesity and Sleep

Obesity and Arthritis

Obesity and Genetics

Obesity and Exercise

Why is Visceral Fat Dangerous?

Obesity and Periodontitis

Latest Obesity News and Research

Miro1 protein linked to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes

A protein called Miro1 found at elevated levels in the skeletal muscle of people with Type 2 diabetes may contribute to insulin resistance, potentially making it a target for future treatments that help the body regulate blood sugar, according to a study published today in Nature Communications.

19 Oct 2026

GLP-1 medications linked to reduced postoperative infections and heart complications

GLP-1 medications, widely prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, may also help protect people from serious complications after surgery.

19 Oct 2026

Could ultraprocessed foods affect your brain before you notice?

Ultraprocessed food intake correlates with increased body fat and vascular brain injury in middle-aged adults, though cognitive performance remains unaffected.

19 Oct 2026

Could this flowering plant help people lose body fat?

Lythrum salicaria extract supplementation led to body fat reduction in a clinical trial, suggesting a promising plant-based approach to weight management.

19 Oct 2026

What you did last week may be the strongest clue to how much you'll exercise this week

Researchers analyzing exercise records from 5.17 million Strava users across 65 countries found that recent exercise history was the strongest predictor of whether individuals would meet a weekly physical activity threshold during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical activity patterns varied considerably across regions, with greater disruption in many middle-income countries and better adherence associated with greater access to outdoor exercise facilities.

18 Oct 2026

Yoghurt, coffee and chocolate have something in common, and researchers mapped it across Europe

Researchers surveyed 12,646 adults across 53 European countries and found that fermented dairy products were widely consumed, while other fermented foods showed considerable regional differences in popularity and intake. The findings revealed that high consumer prevalence did not necessarily translate into substantial consumption, highlighting the importance of measuring both how many people eat fermented foods and the quantities they consume.

18 Oct 2026

You don't need 10,000 steps a day to benefit your heart, cardiologists say

A new American College of Cardiology scientific statement recommends integrating individualized exercise prescriptions into routine cardiovascular care, drawing on evidence supporting aerobic activity, resistance training, and cardiac rehabilitation. The authors emphasize that previously inactive individuals have the most to gain from increasing physical activity, while exercise recommendations should consider individual health conditions, functional capacity, and safety.

18 Oct 2026

A CDC survey finds 4 in 5 US teenagers fall short of high heart health scores

A CDC study of 5,192 US high school students found that approximately 80% had low or moderate cardiovascular health scores based on five measures assessed in a national survey. Diet, sleep, and physical activity received the least favorable scores, with differences observed across sex, grade, and racial and ethnic groups.

15 Oct 2026

Losing weight is one thing. Keeping your muscle is another, experts say

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand concludes that sustained calorie restriction drives weight loss, while adequate protein intake and resistance training help preserve lean mass. Reviewing intermittent fasting, ketogenic diets, and other dietary approaches, the authors emphasize individualized nutrition plans, body composition, and sustainable weight management rather than rapid weight loss alone.

14 Oct 2026

Novel bioprinting technique successfully replicates mature human fat tissue

A research team has developed a support-bath bioprinting method that enables fragile, mature human adipocytes to be incorporated into geometrically defined three-dimensional (3D) constructs while retaining their viability, characteristic lipid-filled morphology, and metabolic activity.

14 Oct 2026

Chronic inflammation spikes during the earliest phase of cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome

In a nationally representative sample of more than 4,000 American adults, a common marker of inflammation was nearly doubled in people in the first stage of the syndrome, defined by excess or unhealthy body fat, compared with those with no metabolic risk factors.

14 Oct 2026

People who walk more each day tend to score better on several brain tests

Researchers analyzed 14 years of physical activity and blood pressure records from 3,093 US adults and found that higher daily step counts were associated with better performance on tests of attention, cognitive control, and reward-related decision-making. Higher systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer delay-discounting performance, but accounted for only 4.8% of its association with physical activity, while the single cognitive assessment prevented conclusions about causation or cognitive decline.

14 Oct 2026

Doctors avoided two common words when talking about weight with patients

Researchers analyzed 123 recorded primary care consultations involving adults with type 2 diabetes and elevated BMI, finding that weight was discussed in just 39% of visits. Clinicians avoided potentially stigmatizing terms such as "overweight" and "obesity," while weight-related conversations occurred more frequently among patients taking GLP-1 receptor agonists.

13 Oct 2026

ACLM launches resources to meet new medical nutrition requirements

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has launched two resources to help medical schools meet new federal nutrition requirements and to support practicing physicians seeking education relevant to state-level nutrition education requirements.

13 Oct 2026

Women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome more likely to have Alzheimer's and dementia

Alzheimer's disease and dementia may be more common in women with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a review of existing evidence published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

13 Oct 2026

Replacement chemical for harmful phthalates may restrict fetal growth

A chemical used to make plastic more flexible, once introduced as a safer substitute for older additives now known to be harmful, may itself also be harmful, slowing babies' growth in the womb, a new study shows.

13 Oct 2026

Nearly 400,000 adults, six body measurements, and a surprising result for heart attack risk

A UK Biobank study involving 395,831 adults found that a higher body roundness index (BRI) was associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction over a median follow-up of 13.3 years. BRI showed slightly better predictive performance than BMI and four other anthropometric measures, although the improvements were modest and require independent validation before clinical adoption.

13 Oct 2026

Three months of yoga before surgery revealed a surprising difference in stress hormones

In a non-randomized study of 40 adults with severe obesity awaiting bariatric surgery, researchers found significantly lower plasma noradrenaline levels in yoga participants than in controls after adjusting for baseline measurements. The researchers detected no significant DNA methylation changes in three inflammatory genes and found no clear psychological or metabolic benefits.

12 Oct 2026

Targeting lipophagy could help treat metabolic and oxidative stress-related diseases

A review published in Genes & Diseases highlights lipophagy, the cellular process that selectively breaks down lipid droplets, as a potentially important therapeutic target for conditions driven by disrupted lipid metabolism and oxidative stress.

12 Oct 2026

New study tracks how eating behaviors vary with age, sex and body weight

Eating behavior varies with age and body weight. A University of Oulu study found that emotional and uncontrolled eating are more pronounced in younger adults, while cognitive restraint is more common among older people. Sex and body weight also influence which eating behaviors are typical.

12 Oct 2026