Weight Loss

New Guidance Tackles GLP-1 Use Around Pregnancy

Experts advise against using GLP-1 medications during pregnancy or breastfeeding while offering guidance on birth control, pregnancy planning and accidental exposure.

Family Obesity Treatment Worked When Brought into Pediatric Care

A large randomized trial found that adding structured family treatment to enhanced pediatric care improved children’s weight trajectories, quality of life and household routines.

AI Calorie Apps May Miss Hundreds of Calories in a Meal

Four photo-based tracking tools underestimated calories and fat in a preliminary study of carefully prepared meals, suggesting their automatic estimates should be treated as a starting point rather than a precise measurement.

Opposite Weight-Loss Drug Strategies May Work Through Different Parts of the Brain

A mouse study offers a possible explanation for why activating or blocking the same appetite-related receptor can both support weight loss, but it does not show which approach will work best in people.

New Protein Target May Not Fit Every American

A new expert perspective questions whether evidence from weight-management research supports recommending 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram to adults across the lifespan.

GLP-1 Drug Use Linked to Fewer Alcohol-Related Hospitalizations

A large observational study found lower hospitalization rates among adults with alcohol-use disorder who started semaglutide or tirzepatide, but it cannot show that the drugs reduced drinking or treated alcohol dependence.

Weight Loss Drug Semaglutide Curbed Eating Even as Hunger Returned

After 60 weeks, people taking the medication used in Wegovy still ate less at a laboratory meal, though the early differences in hunger and food-related thoughts had faded.

Weight Cycling Was Linked to Greater Thigh Muscle Loss

Middle-aged and older adults whose weight repeatedly rose and fell lost more thigh muscle over four years, though the observational study could not determine why their weight changed.

‘Hungry Gut’ Pattern May Predict GLP-1 Weight Loss

Adults with weaker fullness signals lost more weight during six months of treatment, but the approach is not ready to guide routine prescribing.

Water and Spice May Shape How Much People Eat

Two laboratory studies found that spicier salsa slowed eating, while drinking more water during meals was associated with greater food intake.

GLP-1 Drugs May Reduce Binge-Eating Symptoms

A review of 25 clinical trials found improvements in loss-of-control eating and emotional eating, though few participants had a diagnosed eating disorder.

Diabetes Risk May Reflect Muscle Health, Not Weight Alone

Adults with both obesity and low muscle mass or strength were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with obesity alone.

Night Owls Ate Later and Had Less Favorable Metabolic Markers

A study of New Zealand women linked evening chronotypes with later eating patterns, higher body fat and less favorable metabolic measures, but it could not show that meal timing caused those differences.

Weight-Loss Drugs Bring Benefits, Trade-Offs and Unanswered Questions

A BMJ review found several obesity medications produced substantial weight loss, but evidence for quality-of-life gains and long-term health benefits remains limited for many drugs.

Exercise May Add Heart Benefits After Weight Loss

In a secondary analysis of a clinical trial, adults with severe obesity who exercised after weight loss had healthier blood-vessel markers than those using liraglutide alone.

Time-Restricted Eating May Help Some People Keep Weight Off

A small randomized trial follow-up found early and late eight-hour eating windows helped adults maintain modest weight loss one year later, though all participants also received Mediterranean diet guidance.

Sugar Substitutes May Not Be as Metabolically Quiet as They Seem

A new review found signs that nonnutritive sweeteners may affect insulin, blood sugar markers and the gut microbiome, but researchers say the evidence still depends on what they are compared with.

Family-Based Support May Help Children Lower Future Metabolic Risk

A new analysis of 40 years of clinical trial data suggests that treating parents and children together may help children with overweight or obesity make changes linked to lower long-term metabolic risk.

GLP-1 Use May Require Extra Caution in Eating Disorder Care

A JAMA Psychiatry study found GLP-1 medication use and misuse were common in a targeted sample of people with eating disorders, raising questions about screening and support.

Shared Genes May Help Explain Why Weight Runs in Families

A large Norwegian study suggests the link between parents’ and children’s BMI is largely explained by shared genetics, not a direct effect of maternal weight during pregnancy.

Pregnancy Weight Patterns May Help Identify Early Obesity Risk

A large U.S. cohort study linked maternal weight before pregnancy and excess pregnancy weight gain with higher odds of children having overweight or obesity by age 3, but the findings do not mean a child’s future is set before birth.

Researchers Are Trying to Define ‘Food Noise’

A Penn State analysis of TikTok videos found that people often use the phrase to describe intrusive, looping thoughts about food, but the term is not yet a formal diagnosis or clinical measure.

A Longevity Diet Study Complicates the ‘More Protein’ Message

A new mouse study suggests protein source and amino acid balance may matter for healthy aging, but the findings do not prove people should eat less protein or take methionine supplements.

Intermittent Fasting May Ease the Mental Load Of Dieting

In an 18-month randomized trial, fasting and calorie restriction led to similar short-term weight loss but may have worked through different behavior patterns.

Obesity Care Is Moving Beyond GLP-1s Alone

A new peer-reviewed commentary says the next phase of obesity treatment may be more personalized, combining medications with lifestyle support, procedures and better measures of health risk.