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obesity

·April 17, 2025·4 min read

Vagus Nerve Signals Link Diet to Socio-Economic Background

New research reveals that the vagus nerve, which helps regulate appetite, interacts with socio-economic status to influence eating behavior. In a chocolate tasting study, participants from higher socio-economic backgrounds showed stronger alignment between their internal hunger signals and food intake.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 16, 2025·3 min read

How Obesity Rewires the Brain’s Food Reward Circuits

A new research initiative is investigating how obesity reshapes brain circuits involved in reward, motivation, and emotion, potentially driving unhealthy food decisions. The cross-disciplinary team will use cutting-edge electrochemical techniques to measure real-time brain chemical responses to food-related stimuli in humans.

Neuroscience

·April 12, 2025·4 min read

Social Variety Boosts Diet Quality in Women

A new study finds that older Canadian women who remain socially isolated over time are more likely to consume fewer fruits and vegetables, reducing their overall diet quality. Using data from over 30,000 adults tracked for six years, researchers discovered that sustained social engagement—especially through varied activities—was linked to healthier eating.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 10, 2025·4 min read

Obesity May Accelerate Brain Aging and Cognitive Loss

New research reveals that long-term obesity patterns have distinct impacts on brain structure, function, and cognition. Using data from the UK Biobank, researchers identified five obesity trajectories and linked them to different levels of neurological deterioration.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 27, 2025·8 min read

Pleasure Loss, Not Cravings, Drives Overeating in Obesity

A new study reveals that long-term high-fat diets reduce pleasure from eating by lowering neurotensin, a brain peptide that boosts dopamine response.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 28, 2025·5 min read

Short-Term Junk Food Diet Reduces Brain’s Insulin Sensitivity

A new study reveals that consuming high-calorie, highly processed foods for just five days can reduce the brain's sensitivity to insulin, a key factor in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that even in healthy individuals, short-term unhealthy eating altered brain function, mimicking effects seen in people with obesity.

This shows an hour glass with healthy and unhealthy foods.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 19, 2025·8 min read

Life Expectancy Gains Have Stalled: Poor Diet and Obesity to Blame

A new study finds that life expectancy improvements across Europe have slowed significantly since 2011. Key factors include rising obesity, poor diets, and physical inactivity, along with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Featured Neuroscience

·January 15, 2025·5 min read

Food Memories Drive Overeating and Obesity

A new study identifies neurons in the hippocampus that store food-specific memories, directly influencing overeating and body weight. These neurons, which encode memories for sugar and fat, act as "memory traces" that drive dietary behavior and metabolism.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 16, 2024·5 min read

Endocannabinoids Hold Potential to Curb Obesity

A new study reveals that modulating endocannabinoids in the brain can reduce food intake and boost physical activity, offering a promising path to combat obesity. Researchers found that inhibiting the enzyme ABHD6 in the brain’s nucleus accumbens reduced mice’s motivation for food while increasing their interest in exercise.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 5, 2024·4 min read

New Appetite Regulating Neurons Discovered

Researchers have identified a previously unknown population of neurons in the hypothalamus that play a critical role in regulating appetite. These neurons express both leptin receptors and the BNC2 gene, making them highly responsive to hunger-suppressing signals and food-related sensory cues.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·December 2, 2024·5 min read

Visceral Fat May Indicate Alzheimer’s Risk Decades Before Symptoms

A new study links visceral fat, a deep layer of abdominal fat, to increased brain amyloid and tau proteins—key markers of Alzheimer’s disease—decades before dementia symptoms arise. Researchers found that visceral fat accounted for 77% of the relationship between high BMI and amyloid accumulation, while other fat types showed no similar impact. The study highlights how managing visceral fat through lifestyle changes or medication could reduce Alzheimer's risk.

This shows an AI representation of mitochondria.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·November 22, 2024·4 min read

Mitochondrial Gene Editing Reveals Links to Memory

Researchers used mitochondrial gene editing to model genetic disorders in mice, revealing profound impacts on brain function, metabolism, and thermoregulation. They employed a specialized DNA editing tool to induce mutations in the ND5 mitochondrial gene, disrupting energy production and causing learning deficits, hippocampal atrophy, and obesity.