Obesity News and Research

Latest Obesity News and Research

WHO reviews highlight limited long-term data on GLP-1 drug safety

Three new Cochrane reviews find evidence that GLP-1 drugs result in clinically meaningful weight loss, but industry-funded studies raise questions. The reviews were commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) to inform upcoming guidelines on the use of these drugs to treat obesity.

30 Oct 2025

Aligning your body clock may protect your heart and metabolism, says AHA

A new American Heart Association scientific statement highlights how maintaining circadian health through regular sleep, light exposure, meal timing, and exercise may reduce cardiometabolic disease risk. Disrupting these daily rhythms can impair glucose regulation, blood pressure, and cardiovascular function.

29 Oct 2025

Study aims to examine the association between arsenic exposure and MASLD

While metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is associated with obesity, the cause of its rapidly rising prevalence is not well understood.

29 Oct 2025

Experimental compound reduces cell death, inflammation, and organ damage in diabetes

An experimental compound reduced the cell death, inflammation, and organ damage seen with diabetes.

29 Oct 2025

Four distinct subgroups of PCOS open up for more tailored treatments

Four distinct subgroups of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have been identified in an international study published in Nature Medicine by researchers from Karolinska Institutet, among others.

29 Oct 2025

Plant-based diets could curb climate change and infectious diseases, experts say

A new review in Open Forum Infectious Diseases links animal agriculture to climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and infectious disease spread. The authors urge healthcare providers to promote plant-based diets as a practical step to protect planetary and public health.

28 Oct 2025

AI-powered LifeClock forecasts diseases years before symptoms appear

Researchers have developed LifeClock, an AI-driven biological clock trained on over 24 million electronic health records to estimate biological age across the human lifespan. The model accurately predicts disease risk years in advance, revealing distinct developmental and aging processes.

28 Oct 2025

Circadian rhythm disruptions may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease

As modern lifestyles increasingly challenge the body's natural circadian rhythm, the American Heart Association is spotlighting the potential health consequences of regular disruptions to our body's internal clock with a new scientific statement published today in its flagship journal Circulation.

28 Oct 2025

Liver cirrhosis found to be more common in low-income households

Liver cirrhosis is significantly more common in low-income households than in high-income households. This is the result of a national study which, according to the researchers, calls for more preventive action in the most vulnerable groups.

28 Oct 2025

Obesity’s health risks shift with age and sex, new genetic study reveals

Using a new time-resolved Mendelian randomization approach in over 360,000 UK Biobank participants, Karlsson et al. revealed that the causal impact of obesity changes across life, with distinct age- and sex-specific risk patterns for diabetes, heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and osteoarthritis.

27 Oct 2025

Updated COVID-19 vaccines continue to offer strong protection, research shows

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are still providing effective protection against infection, emergency department visits, hospitalization and death, according to new research published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

27 Oct 2025

TRF1 protein depletion linked to leaner mice and altered metabolism

A new research paper was published in Volume 17, Issue 9 of Aging-US on September 17, 2025, titled "Depletion of the TRF1 telomere-binding protein leads to leaner mice with altered metabolic profiles."

27 Oct 2025

Study finds higher rate of stillbirths in the U.S. than previously reported

Stillbirths occur at a higher rate in the U.S. than previously reported, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mass General Brigham.

27 Oct 2025

Study finds bright nights raise risk for stroke and heart failure in adults over 40

A large UK Biobank study found that higher night-time light exposure is linked to significantly greater risks of coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, and other cardiovascular conditions. The findings suggest maintaining darker nights and adequate daytime light could support heart health.

26 Oct 2025

Semaglutide protects the heart beyond weight loss, SELECT trial shows

Semaglutide lowered the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events across all body weight and waist circumference levels in people with overweight or obesity and cardiovascular disease. Early waist reduction explained only a third of this benefit, showing that semaglutide’s heart protection extends beyond fat loss.

26 Oct 2025

Are ultra-processed plant foods really worse than meat? Scientists weigh in

A new review challenges assumptions about ultra-processed foods, finding that plant-based versions, such as soymilk, meat analogs, and soft margarines, may lower cholesterol and disease risk compared with unprocessed animal foods when used as replacements.

26 Oct 2025

Study reveals a troubling surge in severe diverticulitis among Americans younger than 50

A comprehensive analysis of over 5.2 million hospitalizations reveals a troubling surge in severe diverticulitis cases among Americans younger than 50.

24 Oct 2025

Food tax shift could have both environmental and human health benefits

More expensive steak, cheaper tomatoes, but the same total cost for the average basket of groceries at the supermarket.

24 Oct 2025

Dietary fat dictates seasonal eating rhythms, study finds

A new study from UC San Francisco shows that our natural eating patterns are more closely tied to seasonal rhythms than previously thought.

23 Oct 2025

New York Regional Diabetes Research Center established with $10.8 million NIH grant

Albert Einstein College of Medicine has received a five-year, $10.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to create the New York Regional Diabetes Research Center (NYR-DRC), a newly expanded multi-institutional center co-led with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Weill Cornell Medicine.

23 Oct 2025