Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Concerns about weight regain after yo‑yo dieting are largely unfounded, review shows

Many people experience fluctuations in body weight throughout their lives, and so‑called yo‑yo dieting has long been considered a health risk – in some cases even more harmful than remaining overweight.

24 Jun 2026

Plant-based Mediterranean-style diet cuts heart disease risk by 26%

A 20-year study links plant-based Mediterranean diets to lower heart disease risk, highlighting the importance of sustainable eating for cardiovascular health.

24 Jun 2026

Lost weight is less likely to return when exercise follows obesity treatment

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 randomized controlled trials found that exercise during the post-weight-loss maintenance phase reduced weight regain by an average of 2.81 kg compared with control groups. Evidence for fat-mass reduction remained inconclusive, highlighting the need for longer, standardized trials with better adherence and body-composition monitoring.

24 Jun 2026

Colorectal cancer cases rise among younger adults in Germany

Colorectal cancer is generally considered a disease of older adults. However, a new analysis of German cancer registries shows that the number of new colorectal cancer cases among younger adults has risen slightly over the past two decades.

23 Jun 2026

USC study links modified Mediterranean diet to longer lifespan

A plant- and fish-based, low-protein diet paired with small amounts of an amino acid commonly found in eggs, meat and dairy increased healthy lifespan and decreased frailty and fat mass in mice, according to a new USC study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism.

23 Jun 2026

Parental genes rather than pregnancy weight influence childhood body mass index

The link between parents' body mass index (BMI) and their children's BMI in childhood is driven largely by genetic inheritance, rather than by any direct biological effects of parental weight during pregnancy, a new study suggests.

23 Jun 2026

Cytoskeletal proteins in the cell nucleus influence brain development

The cytoskeleton gives cells their shape and helps them move. Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University now show that, in neural stem cells, proteins of the cytoskeleton are also found in the cell nucleus, where they can influence developmental programs.

23 Jun 2026

Elite athletes with higher vitamin D show healthier lipid profiles

Higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were independently associated with lower LDL-C, triglycerides, and lipoprotein(a) in 773 male professional athletes. The cross-sectional study cannot establish causality, but it suggests that vitamin D status may be linked to cardiovascular risk-related lipid markers, even in elite athletic populations.

23 Jun 2026

Insilico and SK Biopharmaceuticals partner to develop AI-driven neuroimmune therapies

Insilico Medicine, a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, and SK Biopharmaceuticals, a Korean-based company leads the way in biotech innovation with groundbreaking drug research, development, and commercialization worldwide, announced a research and development collaboration at the BIO 2026 International Convention to discover AI-enabled innovative drug candidates in the neuroimmune area of the central nervous system.

22 Jun 2026

Accelerated biological aging may drive rising early-onset cancer risk

Cancer is often considered a disease of aging. Older adults are at higher risk because they have had more time to accumulate cellular damage that can trigger tumor formation.

22 Jun 2026

Optimized proximity labeling platform tracks cellular protein communication networks

The body's organs are in constant communication. Fat tissue tells the liver when to store or release energy, the immune system signals localized inflammation, and thousands of proteins carry these messages to organs throughout the body.

22 Jun 2026

Review outlines how donor imaging improves liver transplantation outcomes

Liver transplantation often depends on decisions made under pressure. In deceased donation, teams must quickly judge whether a liver is suitable, whether fat accumulation could threaten graft function, and whether unexpected vascular anatomy may complicate procurement or implantation.

22 Jun 2026

GLP-1 medications may lower risk of multiple substance use disorders

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso found that use of weight loss drugs like Ozempic and other GLP-1s is associated with a lower risk of developing alcohol, opioid, nicotine and cocaine use disorders.

21 Jun 2026

Many kidney transplant candidates fail to reach the national waitlist

Nearly half of Americans with kidney failure who are referred for transplantation never begin the process required to be considered for a new organ, a new study shows, while less than a fifth actually complete the assessment and get on the waitlist.

21 Jun 2026

Synthetic gut communities reveal how diet rewires the microbiome

Synthetic microbial communities give researchers controlled models for testing how diet reshapes gut microbial ecology, metabolism, and host-relevant responses. The review highlights how SynComs can strengthen causal inference, improve intervention testing, and support future precision nutrition, while noting major challenges in stability, standardization, and ecological realism.

21 Jun 2026

Obesity genes have stronger impact on modern generations

People who carry genetic variations linked to obesity are more likely to be heavier now than individuals with the same variants who were born before the recent obesity epidemic.

18 Jun 2026

Epigenetic drugs improve blood vessel health in obesity and diabetes

People with obesity and type 2 diabetes are at high risk of blood vessel damage. This risk depends not only on the genes a person carries, but also on how they are "read".

18 Jun 2026

Gut microbes may help explain why obesity and type 2 diabetes become harder to reverse

This review describes how gut microbial messengers, including SCFAs, microbiota-modified bile acids, neuroactive metabolites, and extracellular vesicles, may shape obesity and type 2 diabetes through the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

17 Jun 2026

Weight-loss medications lessen the risk of violent criminal behavior

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are widely prescribed for diabetes and obesity, but studies have found evidence that the medications may also influence behavior, such as supporting impulse control and reducing substance use and alcohol consumption by potentially interacting with the brain's reward and stress systems.

17 Jun 2026

AI-designed drug for Parkinson's begins first human trial

Insilico Medicine ("Insilico", HKEX: 3696), a clinical-stage biotechnology company powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI), today announced it has achieved the first clinical milestone in its co-development collaboration with Hygtia Therapeutics with the completion of first-in-human dosing in the Phase I study of ISM8969.

17 Jun 2026