Dieting and Weight Control News

June 20, 2025

Top Headlines

Self-Esteem Skyrockets 131% After Weight-Loss Surgery, Study Reveals

June 20, 2025 — Self-esteem scores jumped a remarkable 131% within just one year of bariatric surgery, according to a large study presented at ASMBS 2025. Tracking nearly 5,800 patients, researchers found a direct link between weight loss and rising confidence, ...

Scientists Found the Brain Glitch That Makes You Think You’re Still Hungry

June 11, 2025 — A team of scientists has identified specialized neurons in the brain that store "meal memories" detailed recollections of when and what we eat. These engrams, found in the ventral hippocampus, help ...

Adulting Is Hard on the Heart: Teen to Young Adulthood Is a Critical Time to Address Risk

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many youth have heart disease risk factors by their late teens, and preventing or addressing these risks early may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future, according to a ...

Scientists Discover Why Obesity Takes Away the Pleasure of Eating

Mar. 26, 2025 — Many obese people report losing pleasure in eating rich foods -- something also seen in obese mice. Scientists have now discovered the reason. Long-term high-fat diets lower levels of neurotensin in the brain, disrupting the dopamine pleasure ...

Memory Is Impaired in Aged Rats After 3 Days of High-Fat Eating

Mar. 6, 2025 — Just a few days of eating a diet high in saturated fat could be enough to cause memory problems and related brain inflammation in older adults, a new study in rats ...

Biological Clock Plays Critical Role in Driving Teens' Late-Day Eating Habits

Feb. 18, 2025 — The causes of obesity are complex and influenced by many factors. While research has highlighted connections between sleep, eating patterns and weight gain, scientists remain uncertain of the role of ...

Carbohydrate Cravings in Depression

Feb. 5, 2025 — Depression affects 280 million people worldwide. The mental illness has been proven to lead to changes in eating behavior. Researchers have discovered that although patients with depression generally have less appetite, they prefer carbohydrate-rich ...

Calorie Labels on Menus Could Make Eating Disorders Worse

Jan. 29, 2025 — Calorie labels on restaurant menus are negatively impacting people with eating disorders, according to a new study. The review found that individuals who have been diagnosed with an eating disorder changed their behaviors if presented with a menu ...

Weight Loss App That Tracks Fiber, Protein Content in Meals

Jan. 24, 2025 — Many people struggle to maintain a healthy weight, and choosing the optimal meals for weight loss can be challenging. A research team has developed a weight management program that helps individuals plan meals with the assistance of a web ...

Memory Systems in the Brain Drive Food Cravings That Could Influence Body Weight

Jan. 15, 2025 — A research team identified the brain's food-specific memory system and its direct role in overeating and diet-induced obesity. They found a specific population of neurons in the mouse brain that ...

Researchers Suggest Stress Hormones Explain How Obesity Causes Diabetes

Nov. 12, 2024 — Obesity causes insulin resistance by increasing activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of the stress hormone norepinephrine, according to a new ...

Consistent Bedtime Linked With Better Child Emotion and Behavior Regulation

Nov. 11, 2024 — A consistent bedtime may be more important to a child's ability to control their emotions and behavior than the duration or quality of their sleep, according to a new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:06am EDT

Research Highlights Urgent Need for National Strategy to Combat Rising Eating Disorders

Mar. 28, 2025 — The increasing number of people with eating disorders and a lack of national guidance for support teams has led to researchers calling for a new ...

More Calories -- More Consumption: Individuals With and Without Obesity Both Prefer High-Calories Food, Study Finds

Dec. 18, 2024 — Higher calorie foods were preferred among individuals with and without obesity despite similar taste and texture, according to a new ...

The Decision to Eat May Come Down to These Three Neurons

Oct. 23, 2024 — Manipulating a newly identified neural circuit can curb appetite -- or spur massive ...

An Unexpected Involvement of Sodium Transport in Mitochondrial Energy Generation

Sep. 19, 2024 — A new study offers a fresh perspective on the role of sodium in mitochondrial physiology and points the way to future research into the relationship ...

Parents' Eating Behavior Influences How Their Children Respond to Food

Aug. 12, 2024 — Young children often display similar eating behavior as their parents, with a parent's own eating style influencing how they feed their ...

Sport or Snack? How Our Brain Decides

Aug. 6, 2024 — The brain chemical orexin is crucial when we choose between sport and the tasty temptations that beckon everywhere we turn. This research finding could also help people who find it difficult to ...

New Study on Children and Food: Fruit Chunks in Yogurt Are a Turn Off for One Age Group in Particular

July 3, 2024 — It's no secret that kids aren't crazy about having too many seeds, pulp or chunks in their food. But six-year-olds in particular definitely can't ...

Emotional Overeating Fed by Temperament, Caregivers' Reactions to Children's Emotions

June 30, 2024 — A research team tracked children from infancy through age 3 to explore the roots of emotional overeating. Parents/caregivers were surveyed about the ...

Bedtime Battles: 1 in 4 Parents Say Their Child Can't Go to Sleep Because They're Worried or Anxious

June 17, 2024 — One in four parents describe getting their young child to bed as difficult -- and these parents are less likely to have a bedtime routine, more ...

Eating More Ultra-Processed Foods Tied to Cognitive Decline, Stroke, According to Study

May 24, 2024 — People who eat more ultra-processed foods like soft drinks, chips and cookies may have a higher risk of having memory and thinking problems and ...

How COVID-19 Transformed Family Dinners

Oct. 31, 2024 — While the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led many families to eat more meals at home, they had an additional benefit: an increase in the quality of family time during those dinners, ...

Calorie Labels on Alcohol Might Help Some Drinkers Maintain a Healthier Weight

Sep. 19, 2024 — Just over half of heavier drinkers in England say they would make changes to their drinking if calorie labels for alcohol were introduced, according to a new ...

Significant Gaps Between Science of Obesity and the Care Patients Receive

May 20, 2024 — More than 40% of adults in the United States live with obesity, and the percentage of people living with obesity continues to increase dramatically. While experts have learned a great deal about the ...

New Immunosuppressive Mechanism Found in Brain Cancer

May 3, 2024 — Scientists have discovered how glioblastoma evades the immune system by inducing pro-tumor macrophages via a glucose based epigenetic ...

Blended Antioxidant Supplement Improves Cognition and Memory in Aged Mice

Apr. 2, 2024 — Cell damage from oxidative stress is a major underlying cause of age-related cognitive and muscle strength decline. Antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and prevent age-related health decline. A ...

Pilot Study Shows Ketogenic Diet Improves Severe Mental Illness

Apr. 1, 2024 — A small clinical trial found that the metabolic effects of a ketogenic diet may help stabilize the ...

How the Brain Translates Motivation Into Goal-Oriented Behavior, According to New Study

Mar. 15, 2024 — Hunger can drive a motivational state that leads an animal to a successful pursuit of a goal -- foraging for and finding food. In a highly novel study, researchers describe how two major neuronal ...

Consuming Refined Carbs Might Be Linked to Perceived Facial Attractiveness

Mar. 6, 2024 — In a new study, participants' levels of consumption of refined carbohydrates were statistically linked with their facial attractiveness as rated by heterosexual volunteers of the opposite ...

Living Near Pubs, Bars and Fast-Food Restaurants Could Be Bad for Heart Health

Feb. 27, 2024 — Exposure to more ready-to-eat food outlets linked to a higher risk of heart failure, in a new ...

Avid Appetite in Childhood Linked to Later Eating Disorder Symptoms

Feb. 20, 2024 — The study looked at survey data from 3,670 young people in the UK and the Netherlands to investigate how appetite traits in early childhood might relate to the likelihood of developing eating ...

Could Ultra-Processed Foods Be the New 'Silent' Killer?

Feb. 20, 2024 — Hundreds of novel ingredients never encountered by human physiology are now found in nearly 60 percent of the average adult's diet and nearly 70 percent of children's diets in the U.S. An ...

Protein-Rich Breakfast Boosts Satiety and Concentration

Feb. 15, 2024 — A new study has explored the link between diet and cognitive function, and the results reveal that a protein-rich breakfast can increase satiety and improve concentration. This is important knowledge ...

Study Urges People to Think Twice Before Going on a Diet

Jan. 29, 2024 — A new qualitative study highlights the negative interpersonal and psychological consequences associated with 'yo-yo dieting,' also known as weight cycling. The work underscores how toxic ...

Fat Flies Live Longer on a Diet at Any Age

Dec. 12, 2023 — Putting even elderly, obese flies on a restricted calorie diet extends their lifespan markedly, suggesting obese humans might get similar benefits from cutting calories, even at advanced ...

Cardiologists Reveal New Heart Disease Risk Calculator

Nov. 10, 2023 — The new American Heart Association PREVENTTM risk calculator estimates the 10- and 30-year risk of total cardiovascular disease for people aged 30 years and older. The calculator estimates the risk ...

Scientists Says Identifying Some Foods as Addictive Could Shift Attitudes, Stimulate Research

Oct. 9, 2023 — Scientists have published an analysis with a timely and controversial recommendation: It's time for an international shift in the way we think about ultra-processed food and its addictive ...

Discrimination Alters Brain-Gut 'Crosstalk,' Prompting Poor Food Choices and Increased Health Risks

Oct. 2, 2023 — People frequently exposed to racial or ethnic discrimination may be more susceptible to obesity and related health risks in part because of a stress response that changes biological processes and how ...

Uncovering How Our Cells Process Cholesterol

Sep. 28, 2023 — Scientists have found how human cells distribute and maintain their cholesterol levels, aiding in research in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as cardiovascular ...

A Quarter of People Are Undoing the Benefits of Healthy Meals by Unhealthy Snacking

Sep. 14, 2023 — A quarter of people are undoing the benefits of healthy meals with unhealthy snacks, which increases the risk of strokes and cardiovascular ...

Cluster of Slightly Unhealthy Traits Linked With Earlier Heart Attack and Stroke

Aug. 25, 2023 — Middle-aged adults with three or more unhealthy traits including slightly high waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose have heart attacks and strokes two years earlier than their ...