Topic description and stories

Illustration of a tired African American mother crying

Genetic study points to oxytocin as possible treatment for obesity and postnatal depression

02 Jul 2024

Scientists have identified a gene which, when missing or impaired, can cause obesity, behavioural problems and, in mothers, postnatal depression. The...

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Portrait of a young girl writing in her diary

Largest ever genetic study of age of puberty in girls shows links with weight gain

01 Jul 2024

Genes can indirectly influence the age at which girls have their first period by accelerating weight gain in childhood, a known risk factor for early...

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Fast food meal of burger and fries

Exercising during pregnancy normalises eating behaviours in offspring from obese mice

04 Jun 2024

Maternal obesity in pregnancy changes the eating behaviours of offspring by increasing long-term levels of particular molecules known as microRNAs in...

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Woman with obesity washing food

Scientists identify rare gene variants that confer up to 6-fold increase in risk of obesity

04 Apr 2024

Cambridge researchers have identified genetic variants in two genes that have some of the largest impacts on obesity risk discovered to date.

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Woman using a food delivery app on her mobile phone

AI predicts healthiness of food menus

08 Mar 2024

Cambridge researchers have used artificial intelligence to predict the healthiness of café, takeaway and restaurant menus at outlets across Britain...

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Brown labrador retriever dog looks at food treat

Genetic mutation in a quarter of all Labradors hard-wires them for obesity

06 Mar 2024

New research finds around a quarter of Labrador retriever dogs face a double-whammy of feeling hungry all the time and burning fewer calories due to...

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Intermittent fasting conceptual image, showing a plate of food to represent a clock.

Scientists identify how fasting may protect against inflammation

30 Jan 2024

Cambridge scientists may have discovered a new way in which fasting helps reduce inflammation – a potentially damaging side-effect of the body’s...

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Person standing on white digital bathroom scale

Feeling depressed linked to short-term increase in bodyweight among people with overweight or obesity

10 Jan 2024

Increases in symptoms of depression are associated with a subsequent increase in bodyweight when measured one month later, new research from the...

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Overweight man playing basketball

Brain’s ‘appetite control centre’ different in people who are overweight or living with obesity

08 Aug 2023

Cambridge scientists have shown that the hypothalamus, a key region of the brain involved in controlling appetite, is different in the brains of...

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Brown mouse

Unborn babies use ‘greedy’ gene from dads to ‘remote-control’ mums into feeding them extra food

11 Jul 2023

A study in mice has found that fetuses use a copy of a gene inherited from their dad to force their mum to release as much nutrition as possible...

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Patient receiving a COVID-19 vaccination

Obesity accelerates loss of COVID-19 vaccination immunity, study finds

11 May 2023

The protection offered by COVID-19 vaccination declines more rapidly in people with severe obesity than in those with normal weight, scientists at...

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Child's hands pouring a drink into a glass

Sugary drinks tax may have prevented over 5,000 cases of obesity a year in year six girls alone

26 Jan 2023

The introduction of the soft drinks industry levy – the ‘sugary drinks tax’ – in England was followed by a drop in the number of cases of obesity...

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