Featured
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News |
Gut microbes linked to fatty diet drive tumour growth
Scientists know there is a link between obesity and some cancers. A study in mice and people suggests why that might be.
- Gillian Dohrn
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News & Views |
Dual-action obesity drug rewires brain circuits for appetite
A two-in-one drug that modulates neural pathways involved in appetite and reward might prove to be more effective and longer lasting than current weight-loss drugs on the market.
- Tyler M. Cook
- & Darleen Sandoval
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News |
Experimental obesity drug packs double punch to reduce weight
Test of weight-loss candidate in mice shows that there is still room for improvement in a burgeoning field.
- Asher Mullard
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Article
| Open Access
GLP-1-directed NMDA receptor antagonism for obesity treatment
Unimolecular integration of NMDA receptor antagonism with GLP-1 receptor agonism effectively reverses obesity, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia in rodent models of metabolic disease.
- Jonas Petersen
- , Mette Q. Ludwig
- & Christoffer Clemmensen
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News Feature |
Obesity drugs aren’t always forever. What happens when you quit?
Many researchers think that Wegovy and Ozempic should be taken for life, but myriad factors can force people off them.
- McKenzie Prillaman
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News |
First US drug approved for a liver disease surging around the world
A therapy called resmetirom improves hallmarks of an obesity-linked condition that can lead to liver failure.
- Heidi Ledford
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News |
Blockbuster obesity drug leads to better health in people with HIV
Semaglutide reduces weight and fat accumulation associated with the antiretroviral regimen that keeps HIV at bay.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News |
Smoking scars the immune system for years after quitting
A cigarette habit and previous infection with a common virus both have important effects on the immune system.
- Heidi Ledford
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Comment |
No ‘easy’ weight loss: don’t overlook the social cost of anti-obesity drugs
Ideas of diet and exercise as the ‘best’ way to lose weight could stigmatize people taking Ozempic, WeGovy and other blockbuster drugs that affect appetite. Lessons from weight-loss surgery reveal ways to help.
- Alexandra Brewis
- & Sarah Trainer
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News |
Obesity drugs have another superpower: taming inflammation
The blockbuster medications that reduce body weight also reduce inflammation in organs such as the brain, raising hopes that they can treat Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News Feature |
Weight-loss-drug pioneer: this biochemist finally gained recognition for her work
Svetlana Mojsov led early studies of GLP-1, the hormone behind Wegovy, Ozempic and other blockbusters.
- Elie Dolgin
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Article |
Control of lipolysis by a population of oxytocinergic sympathetic neurons
Oxytocin derived from peripheral sympathetic neurons is shown to regulate lipolysis and systemic metabolism.
- Erwei Li
- , Luhong Wang
- & Evan D. Rosen
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: Why BMI is flawed — and how to redefine obesity
Although body mass index is the main diagnostic test for obesity, it leaves out many factors that can affect how healthy someone is.
- McKenzie Prillaman
- & Benjamin Thompson
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News Explainer |
Anti-obesity drugs’ side effects: what we know so far
Recent studies evaluate risks associated with drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News Feature |
Why BMI is flawed — and how to redefine obesity
The main diagnostic test for obesity — the body mass index — accounts for only height and weight, leaving out a slew of factors that influence body fat and health.
- McKenzie Prillaman
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News Explainer |
Anti-obesity drug also protects against heart disease — what happens next?
Clinical-trial data suggest that semaglutide, sold under the name Wegovy, slashes risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular incidents.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News Feature |
Four key questions on the new wave of anti-obesity drugs
Scientists want to know who will benefit most, what the long-term effects might be and whether the treatments will change views on obesity.
- McKenzie Prillaman
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Research Briefing |
Energy burn in muscle boosted by a hormonal signalling axis
Restricting dietary calories leads to weight loss, but with time these effects diminish because the body’s metabolism slows down. A hormone called GDF15 is now shown to maintain weight loss during dieting by promoting energy expenditure through the activation of pathways that affect calcium levels in skeletal muscle.
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Article
| Open Access
GDF15 promotes weight loss by enhancing energy expenditure in muscle
GDF15 treatment in mice counteracts compensatory reductions in energy expenditure, resulting in greater weight loss and reductions in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to caloric restriction alone.
- Dongdong Wang
- , Logan K. Townsend
- & Gregory R. Steinberg
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News |
Beyond Ozempic: brand-new obesity drugs will be cheaper and more effective
Hormone mimics offer advantages even beyond those of the potent weight-loss jabs on the market now.
- Saima Sidik
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Spotlight |
By the numbers: China’s changing diet
Data show that the Chinese middle class is eating a higher-fat, less-healthy diet — a trend reflected in the increases in heart disease and childhood obesity.
- Yvaine Ye
- & Jack Leeming
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News |
Game-changing obesity drugs go mainstream: what scientists are learning
Studies tackle who’s most likely to lose weight on the new generation of anti-obesity medications.
- Mariana Lenharo
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News |
Diabetes and obesity are rising globally — but some nations are hit harder
Rates of type 2 diabetes and other conditions caused by disorders of the body’s energy-processing system are driven in part by changing food habits.
- Saima May Sidik
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News |
Sex, food or water? How mice decide
Neurons that regulate a mouse’s response to hunger and thirst also influence social interactions with the opposite sex.
- Heidi Ledford
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Nature Podcast |
Audio long read: The ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
A slew of remarkable trials have raised the profile of a class of weight loss drugs, but there are concerns about cost and weight stigma.
- McKenzie Prillaman
- & Nick Petrić Howe
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News Feature |
The ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers
A class of drugs that quash hunger have shown striking results in trials and in practice. But can they help all people with obesity — and conquer weight stigma?
- McKenzie Prillaman
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News |
Almost half of cancer deaths are preventable
Data show that smoking, drinking alcohol and obesity are the biggest contributors to cancer worldwide.
- Giorgia Guglielmi
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Outlook |
The vicious cycle of depression and obesity
Is it time for obesity to be treated as a mental-health concern?
- Benjamin Plackett
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Article
| Open Access
Post-translational control of beige fat biogenesis by PRDM16 stabilization
The ubiquitin E3 ligase CUL2–APPBP2 determines PRDM16 protein stability by catalysing PRDM16 polyubiquitination in beige fat.
- Qiang Wang
- , Huixia Li
- & Shingo Kajimura
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Article |
An exercise-inducible metabolite that suppresses feeding and obesity
A newly identified exercise-induced signalling metabolite—an amidated conjugate of lactate and phenylalanine—can reduce food intake and improve blood glucose homeostasis.
- Veronica L. Li
- , Yang He
- & Jonathan Z. Long
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Article |
Obesity alters pathology and treatment response in inflammatory disease
Obesity changes the characteristics of the immune response induced in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis, suggesting therapies that could be used against immune dysregulation in obesity.
- Sagar P. Bapat
- , Caroline Whitty
- & Alexander Marson
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Article |
A single-cell atlas of human and mouse white adipose tissue
A single-cell atlas of white adipose tissue from mouse and human reveals diverse cell types and similarities and differences across species and dietary conditions.
- Margo P. Emont
- , Christopher Jacobs
- & Evan D. Rosen
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Article |
Glycogen metabolism links glucose homeostasis to thermogenesis in adipocytes
Increased glycogen metabolism in adipocytes leads to expression of uncoupling protein 1, thereby linking glucose metabolism to thermogenesis.
- Omer Keinan
- , Joseph M. Valentine
- & Alan R. Saltiel
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News & Views |
A two-step hormone-signalling mechanism that drives physical activity
In mice, the ovarian hormone oestradiol sensitizes neurons in a brain region called the hypothalamus to a melanocortin hormone that signals an energy surplus. Their dual activation increases physical activity.
- Stephanie L. Padilla
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Article |
A leptin–BDNF pathway regulating sympathetic innervation of adipose tissue
The authors show that leptin signalling regulates the plasticity of sympathetic architecture of adipose tissue via a top-down neural pathway that is crucial for energy homeostasis.
- Putianqi Wang
- , Ken H. Loh
- & Jeffrey Friedman
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Outlook |
EraCal Therapeutics: a new drug candidate for obesity
The start-up that developed the compound is a finalist for The Spinoff Prize.
- Elie Dolgin
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Article |
Statin therapy is associated with lower prevalence of gut microbiota dysbiosis
A cross-sectional analysis of participants in the MetaCardis Body Mass Index Spectrum cohort finds that the higher prevalence of gut microbiota dysbiosis in individuals with obesity is not observed in those who take statin drugs.
- Sara Vieira-Silva
- , Gwen Falony
- & Jeroen Raes
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Editorial |
Counting the hidden $12-trillion cost of a broken food system
The world’s food system costs trillions in poor health and ecological damage. On World Food Day, governments and researchers must commit to more-regular audits of these unseen expenses.
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Research Highlight |
The workout that excels at countering obesity genes
Half a dozen forms of exercise help to offset a genetic predisposition to obesity, but one stands out.
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News & Views |
Rural areas drive increases in global obesity
The global rise in the prevalence of obesity has been seen as an urban problem. A large-scale study challenges this view by showing that weight gain in rural areas is the main factor currently driving the obesity epidemic.
- Barry M. Popkin
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Nature Podcast |
Podcast: Urban vs Rural BMI, and the health of rivers
Hear the latest science updates, brought to you by Benjamin Thompson and Shamini Bundell.
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News & Views |
Fat cells with a sweet tooth
Some fat cells convert energy into heat, so targeting them to induce weight loss is appealing. The discovery that a subset of the cells burns glucose, rather than both glucose and lipids, could improve our ability to do just that.
- Wenfei Sun
- & Christian Wolfrum
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News & Views |
Reduced oxygen consumption by fat cells improves metabolic defects
Low oxygen levels are a hallmark of expanding fat tissue in obesity, and can lead to type 2 diabetes. In addition to a lack of adequate blood supply, increased oxygen demand in fat cells now emerges as being key to this harmful state.
- Nolwenn Joffin
- & Philipp E. Scherer
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Comment |
Reward food companies for improving nutrition
Governments must provide incentives for businesses to fix the global food system, not just punish them for acting irresponsibly, argues Lawrence Haddad.
- Lawrence Haddad
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Toolbox |
The mazes with minds of their own
Automated ‘smart mazes’ free behavioural researchers from the tedium of monitoring animals. They also boost data quality and reproducibility.
- Charles Choi
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Outlook |
Childhood obesity: A growing concern
Rising obesity means that more children are developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Bianca Nogrady
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Outline |
Fighting the fatty liver
Increased levels of obesity are driving an epidemic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Understanding, diagnosing and treating this progressive condition are now priorities.
- Liam Drew
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Outline |
Fatty liver disease: turning the tide
A progressive and potentially life-threatening condition previously associated with alcoholism is becoming more common — even in non-drinkers.
- Liam Drew
Ozempic keeps wowing: trial data show benefits for kidney disease
Fatty liver disease