Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

Experimental RNA therapy enhances weight loss while preserving lean muscle

GLP-1 drugs have revolutionized obesity treatment, but they can lead people to lose muscle mass along with fat. And when patients stop treatment, they often regain their weight - primarily as fat.

21 Sep 2026

GLP-1 medications place children at risk for nutritional deficiencies

Children prescribed GLP-1 medications for weight loss, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes are at risk for nutritional deficiencies – diagnosed in nearly one in six patients (16.8%) within the first year – according to a new study published in the journal Childhood Obesity.

21 Sep 2026

Maldives meets UN target for reducing premature chronic disease deaths

The Maldives has become the only country in the World Health Organization's South East Asia region to meet the UN target for reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes.

21 Sep 2026

High adolescent BMI linked to faster biological aging in adulthood

A study by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, found that a high adolescent body mass index (BMI) may be linked to accelerated biological aging in adulthood.

21 Sep 2026

New mRNA vaccine expands flu protection options for older adults

Every fall, millions of Americans heed the call to get their annual flu shot. Getting vaccinated reduces the risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death from influenza.

20 Sep 2026

Study identifies brain mechanism behind pregnancy-related food cravings

Why do food cravings become so strong during pregnancy? Researchers at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in collaboration with colleagues, have identified a brain mechanism that may help explain how pregnancy changes the motivation to seek certain highly palatable foods.

18 Sep 2026

Otolaryngologists gather to present latest advances in ear, nose, and throat care

The latest treatments and research advances in ear, nose, and throat care will take center stage in Los Angeles October 17-20, when more than 5,000 of the world's leading otolaryngologists gather for the 2026 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation.

18 Sep 2026

New discovery overturns a prevailing model of brain development

For centuries, scientists have thought of the brain as a single, unified organ. But new research led by Stanford Medicine reveals that what we call the brain is two distinct organs that evolved independently over hundreds of millions of years.

18 Sep 2026

More physical activity linked to lower type 2 diabetes risk in adults

Chronic stress and inflammation cause silent structural heart damage

Chronic stress from people's everyday lives may be causing lasting structural changes to the heart, harming health and reducing life expectancy.

18 Sep 2026

Being active may not tell the whole story when it comes to weight gain

A five-year study of 2,606 young and early-midlife Finnish municipal employees examined how leisure-time physical activity and sedentary behavior were associated with gaining at least 10% of baseline body weight. About 24% of women and 12% of men experienced major weight gain, with the analysis pointing to the importance of considering activity and sedentary time together.

17 Sep 2026

ACC Latin America 2026 studies highlight sex and regional disparities in heart attack care

disparities in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) management and outcomes across Latin America, focusing on women as a higher risk, yet underrepresented, patient group.

17 Sep 2026

Study identifies bile acid that helps reduce excess fat accumulation in the liver

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is a common condition that causes excess fat to build up in the liver, affecting about one-quarter of adults worldwide.

17 Sep 2026

Experts call for eating-disorder screening before GLP-1 treatment

An international multidisciplinary panel developed consensus-based recommendations for GLP-1 receptor agonist use in people with eating disorders, calling for screening, individualized monitoring, patient education, and further research into safety and potential therapeutic effects. The experts cautioned that current evidence remains limited and inconsistent, particularly outside binge eating disorder, and identified major gaps in understanding the risk of new or recurrent eating disorders during treatment.

16 Sep 2026

AI-driven health app helps patients achieve better blood pressure control

Incorporating a free smartphone app featuring AI-driven health coaching, blood pressure monitoring, and behavioral incentives into a hospital's existing clinical workflows helps patients make meaningful reductions in blood pressure, findings that suggest that digital apps may offer an effective means of extending care beyond the clinic when incorporated into treatment plans.

16 Sep 2026

Study defines early-onset cirrhosis caused by fatty liver disease

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have published the first study to define early-onset cirrhosis caused by metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition known as fatty liver disease.

16 Sep 2026

New ADA grant funds AI mobile tool to prevent teen diabetes

It's well-known that obesity and the cardiometabolic diseases that it can lead to continues to be a major concern among the nation's teens, affecting more than 1 in 5.

16 Sep 2026

New AACR report outlines future of cutting-edge cancer research

Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the 16th edition of its annual Cancer Progress Report.

16 Sep 2026

What children eat may leave a measurable signature in their blood

Researchers analyzed 236 blood metabolites in 421 children to examine metabolic signatures associated with three dietary patterns characterized by core foods, animal protein sources, or poor-quality fats and sugars. The results identified distinct, biologically plausible metabolite patterns across dietary exposures, although most individual associations did not survive multiple-testing correction and require validation in independent cohorts.

15 Sep 2026

Cardiovascular disease surpasses cancer as top killer of Hispanic populations in the U.S.

Cardiovascular disease has surpassed cancer as the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults in the U.S., driven by rising rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors that often begin earlier in life for Hispanic people.

15 Sep 2026