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What's New
PubMed · December 31, 2026
Researchers found that taking a pasteurized probiotic supplement (called Akkermansia muciniphila) for 3 months showed some promising results for people with prediabetes — a condition where blood sugar is higher than normal but not yet at diabetes levels. In particular, people who naturally had low levels of this beneficial gut bacteria to begin with seemed to benefit the most, showing improvements in how well their body responds to insulin (the hormone that manages blood sugar), as well as reductions in body weight and trunk fat. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Lifestyle
PubMed · August 1, 2026
Researchers found that eating a low-carbohydrate diet built around plant foods — think vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains, while cutting back heavily on bread, sugar, and starchy foods — helped people with obesity or related health conditions lose roughly 5 to 7 kilograms (about 11 to 15 pounds). The same approach also lowered harmful LDL cholesterol and improved blood sugar level (A1C), which measures how well the body has been managing blood sugar over the past few months. These results came from seven studies involving nearly 1,000 adults and lasted anywhere from about one month to one year.
What's New
ScienceDaily · July 26, 2026
Researchers found that diabetes isn't just about having too much fat — it can also happen when the body loses healthy fat tissue that it actually needs to function well. When fat cells become damaged and inflamed, they can stop working properly and disappear, which throws off the body's metabolism (the system that turns food into energy). This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
ScienceDaily · July 25, 2026
A press release describes early findings suggesting that a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza, taken in pill form, may reduce pleasure-driven eating by calming a part of the brain linked to cravings and reward. For people with obesity, this is interesting because it hints that these medications might work not just on metabolism but also on the urge to eat for pleasure rather than hunger. This is early research in mice and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Lifestyle
ScienceDaily · July 18, 2026
A study found that people with obesity who limited all their eating to an eight-hour window each day — for example, eating only between noon and 8 p.m. — kept more weight off even a full year after the 12-week program ended, compared to people who ate on their usual schedule. The benefit showed up whether people chose an earlier or later eight-hour window, though an earlier eating window seemed especially good at helping people hold on to fat loss specifically. Researchers found this approach helped people with obesity maintain their results over time, not just while they were actively following the program.
What's New
PubMed · July 16, 2026
Researchers found that smartphone and app-based tools that send people personalized nudges or tips at just the right moment — like when they're most likely to make a poor food choice — may help people eat healthier in their everyday lives. For someone managing obesity, this kind of real-time, tailored support could make it easier to build better habits without relying on memory or willpower alone. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
JAMA · July 14, 2026
Researchers found that eating a lot of ultraprocessed foods — things like packaged snacks, fast food, and ready-made meals that are heavily manufactured and contain many added ingredients — may be linked to a higher risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks or strokes, as well as a greater chance of death overall. For people with type 2 diabetes, who are already at higher risk for heart-related complications, this connection could be especially important to be aware of. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Lifestyle
ScienceDaily · July 10, 2026
A press release describes findings suggesting that eating a Mediterranean-style diet — one that is low in protein, particularly from animal sources like meat and dairy — may help reduce body fat and lower the chances of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The diet also kept levels of a building block found in animal protein, called methionine, just low enough to appear beneficial. Researchers saw these effects in mice and also found a pattern in human data linking less animal protein to better outcomes.
Medications
ScienceDaily · July 9, 2026
A press release highlights a rise in accidental dosing mistakes involving Ozempic and Wegovy — medications used to help manage weight and blood sugar — leading to a surge in calls to poison control centers. These incidents appear to be unintentional errors, such as taking the wrong dose or dosing too often, rather than deliberate misuse. Experts suggest that clearer education about how to use these weekly medications correctly could help prevent many of these situations.
Ask your doctor: Ask the doctor whether the patient needs clear written instructions about how often to inject Wegovy and how to increase the dose slowly to avoid accidental overdose mistakes.
Medications
ScienceDaily · July 7, 2026
A new once-daily pill called orforglipron was tested against oral semaglutide — the pill version of the medication behind Ozempic — and helped people with type 2 diabetes lose more weight and improve their blood sugar control. Unlike Ozempic, which is an injection, orforglipron is a pill that doesn't need to be refrigerated or taken at a specific time around meals, making it potentially easier to use. It's also less expensive to produce, which could mean more people around the world might one day be able to access it.
What's New
PubMed · July 7, 2026
Researchers found that people who lost belly fat through diet and exercise kept some of those gains even years later — even after regaining the weight they had lost. Specifically, the fat stored deep in the abdomen (called visceral fat, which wraps around internal organs and is linked to heart and metabolic problems) stayed partially reduced for up to 10 years, which may help protect long-term heart health. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Medications
PubMed · July 1, 2026
Researchers found that people taking a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza — which is also used for weight loss — were about three times more likely to experience hair loss compared to those taking a placebo, or dummy pill. Out of every 100 people studied who took this type of medication, roughly 4 experienced hair loss. This appears to be a newly identified safety finding, not a guideline recommendation, and people interested in learning more should speak with their doctor.
Ask your doctor: Ask the doctor whether the patient should know about hair loss as a possible side effect if they start taking a GLP-1 medication like semaglutide or tirzepatide for diabetes.
What's New
PubMed · July 1, 2026
Researchers found that people taking a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza often experience stomach-related side effects — such as nausea, diarrhea, constipation, or vomiting — even when they're also following healthy eating or lifestyle guidance. On a more encouraging note, the research found that these medications generally helped people lose fat while keeping their muscle mass mostly intact, which matters because losing muscle during weight loss can affect strength and overall health. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
ScienceDaily · June 26, 2026
Researchers found that not all sugars affect hunger in the same way — fructose, the type of sugar found in many processed foods and sweeteners like high-fructose corn syrup, appears to be much weaker at telling the brain 'you've eaten enough' compared to glucose (the more basic form of sugar your body uses for energy). This could help explain why some foods leave people feeling less satisfied even after eating plenty of calories, which may be especially relevant for people managing their weight. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
PubMed · June 19, 2026
Researchers found that plants from the Artemisia family — a group of more than 500 herbs that includes plants like wormwood and mugwort — may help lower blood sugar and fat levels in the blood, improve how the body responds to insulin (a hormone that controls blood sugar), and reduce inflammation. This review looked at 28 different Artemisia plants and found encouraging results across animal studies, lab studies, and some human studies. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Medications
ScienceDaily · June 16, 2026
A press release discusses diabetes medications like Ozempic and Victoza, noting that while many people stop taking them — often due to side effects — a large number eventually start taking them again. It also highlights that newer versions of these medications seem to help people stay on treatment longer. This appears to be new information about patient patterns rather than a safety update or official guideline recommendation.
What's New
PubMed · June 16, 2026
Researchers found that people with obesity who took a nutrient called betaine — a natural compound found in foods like beets and spinach — saw greater improvements in body weight, waist size, blood sugar control, and cholesterol levels compared to those who took standard B vitamins alone, after eight weeks of treatment. They also had bigger drops in homocysteine, a substance in the blood that, when elevated, is linked to a higher risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks or strokes. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
ScienceDaily · June 14, 2026
A press release highlights an interesting finding: people who started taking a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Wegovy for weight loss were also moving less — taking fewer daily steps and exercising less — even as they lost weight. This matters because these medications can reduce muscle along with fat, and being less active could make that muscle loss worse over time, which affects strength and overall health. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
ScienceDaily · June 3, 2026
A press release describes an experimental pill being developed for type 2 diabetes and obesity that works differently from a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza — instead of reducing appetite, it targets the muscles to help the body burn fat and manage blood sugar control, while keeping muscle mass intact. Early results suggest it appears to be safe and well tolerated by patients. Because this is a press release about early-stage research and not yet a published study, it's worth watching but hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Lifestyle
JAMA · June 2, 2026
A study explored how exercise fits into weight loss plans, especially for people taking a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza, and found that getting patients to stick with regular exercise is a real challenge for doctors. Researchers looked at strategies that could help people stay consistent with physical activity, whether or not they're on these medications. This matters because exercise likely plays an important supporting role in weight management, and patients might want to ask their doctor what realistic, personalized movement goals could look like for them.
What's New
PubMed · June 1, 2026
A study found that people with prediabetes — a stage where blood sugar is higher than normal but not yet at diabetes levels — who added fiber supplements (from potato fiber and sugar beet pectin) to a high-protein diet showed early signs of changes in brain activity related to food cravings, particularly in the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in emotional responses and desire for food. The idea behind this is that fiber is broken down in the gut and may send signals to the brain that help people feel fuller and less drawn to high-calorie foods, which could potentially help with weight and blood sugar control. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
PubMed · June 1, 2026
A study found that when people with obesity lost weight using diabetes medications like Ozempic or Victoza (including newer versions that work two ways at once), roughly a quarter to a third of the weight they lost came from muscle rather than fat — a pattern that was similar to what happened with diet and exercise changes alone. The most encouraging finding was that adding resistance training (such as weightlifting or strength exercises) to a lifestyle program led to the least amount of muscle loss during weight loss, compared to any other approach studied. For someone with obesity, this matters because keeping muscle while losing weight helps maintain strength and long-term health. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
PubMed · June 1, 2026
A study found that for people with metabolic syndrome — a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, excess belly fat, and blood sugar problems — high-intensity interval training (short bursts of hard effort followed by rest) was the most effective type of exercise for lowering blood pressure, outperforming steady aerobic exercise, strength training, and mind-body practices like yoga or tai chi. The benefits were especially noticeable in people who already had high blood pressure and in those who kept up their exercise program for 16 weeks or longer. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Lifestyle
PubMed · June 1, 2026
Researchers found that eating a low-carbohydrate diet (where roughly 1 in 4 calories comes from carbs, like bread, pasta, and sugar) and eating a low-fat diet (where about 1 in 4 calories comes from fat) produced nearly identical results when it came to reducing inflammation in people with obesity — inflammation being the body's low-level, ongoing stress response that can quietly raise the risk of disease. The study looked at 25 separate studies involving over 2,000 adults, following them for an average of about six months. In short, neither eating style had a clear edge over the other for calming inflammation markers in the body.
Medications
PubMed · June 1, 2026
A study found that tirzepatide (brand name Zepbound or Mounjaro) helped people with obesity meaningfully reduce their waist size relative to their height — a measure linked to health risks like serious heart problems and diabetes. After about 72 weeks, more than half of people taking the higher doses moved into a healthier category for this measurement, compared to fewer than 1 in 10 people taking a placebo (an inactive treatment). This appears to be a new finding about how tirzepatide affects body shape and fat distribution, not just overall weight.
What's New
PubMed · June 1, 2026
A study found that adults with prediabetes and obesity who followed a ketogenic diet (a very low-carb, high-fat eating plan) combined with eating fewer calories lost significantly more weight and body fat over 12 weeks than those on a regular diet — and also showed improvements in insulin resistance, meaning their bodies responded better to insulin and had better blood sugar control. However, researchers also found that this diet raised blood levels of a substance called LPS (a marker linked to inflammation that comes from gut bacteria), which could potentially be a concern, even though a key inflammation signal called IL-6 went down at the same time. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
PubMed · June 1, 2026
Researchers found that eating while watching TV or doing something passive — like listening to a podcast — led people to eat noticeably more food compared to eating without any distraction. However, when the distraction involved physical activity, that effect wasn't seen. For people managing obesity, this matters because small, repeated increases in how much is eaten during passive screen time could add up over time. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
What's New
PubMed · May 26, 2026
Researchers found that people who ate more red meat, processed meat, and cream — while eating less fruit, vegetables, and tea — were more likely to have problems with how their liver processed insulin, a hormone that helps control blood sugar. This "insulin resistance" in the liver makes it harder for the body to keep blood sugar levels steady, which is a key concern for people with type 2 diabetes. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
Medications
PubMed · May 21, 2026
Researchers found that oral semaglutide — a diabetes and weight-loss medication known by the brand name Rybelsus (the pill form of the same drug in Ozempic) — helped people with overweight or obesity lose weight and improve their blood sugar level (A1C) compared to a placebo, or sugar pill. The analysis pulled together results from 13 studies involving more than 26,000 people, making it a fairly large look at the evidence. This appears to be a new finding adding to what we know about how the pill form of this medication may help with weight and heart-health-related factors beyond just blood sugar control.
What's New
PubMed · May 1, 2026
A study found that people with prediabetes, obesity, and schizophrenia who were taking a diabetes medication like Ozempic or Victoza showed meaningful improvements in how well their bodies responded to insulin — meaning their bodies had an easier time managing blood sugar — compared to those who took a placebo. Much of this benefit appeared to be linked to weight loss, with participants losing an average of about 20 pounds over 30 weeks. This is early research and hasn't yet changed treatment guidelines.
For informational purposes only. Not medical advice. Always consult a physician before making any health decisions.