Obesity

How 2025 marked a turning point for health science and innovation

From GLP-1 drugs and personalised cancer vaccines to longevity experiments and regenerative therapies, 2025 marked a year when scientific breakthroughs reshaped healthcare and medicine

Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk compete for lead in India's obesity drug market

Novo's strategy emphasises price cuts and accelerated launches, while Lilly's products benefitted from hitting the market early

Novo gets US nod for Wegovy pill, eyes January launch in obesity market

Novo will start selling the pill, the first of the blockbuster GLP-1 class, in the US in early January, the company said in a statement Monday

Emcure targets pan-India obesity market with Poviztra semaglutide

As GLP-1 competition heats up, Emcure is pricing semaglutide brand Poviztra at ₹8,790 a month and targeting demand beyond metros with deeper distribution in smaller cities

Biocon launches drugs for diabetes and obesity treatment in Netherlands

The Netherlands launch builds on Biocon's entry into the UK in February, where it received regulatory approval for liraglutide from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency

Price cuts drove market gains in November for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy

Novo Nordisk cut Wegovy prices in mid-November, driving a 70% consumption jump and higher market share. Pharmarack data show Lilly's Mounjaro still dominates sales

Harvard study finds gut-liver link that may shape future obesity treatments

A new study shows how gut-produced metabolites influence insulin response and fat metabolism, opening the door to potential future treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes

Can Ozempic trigger depression or suicidal thoughts? Australia weighs in

Australia has issued a safety alert on GLP-1 drugs after reviewing reports of depression and suicidal thoughts; while there is no proven causal link, regulators want users to stay alert

WHO issues first guidelines backing GLP-1 drugs for obesity management

WHO has issued its first guidelines recommending GLP-1 drugs for long-term obesity treatment in adults, while stressing equitable access, health system readiness and lifestyle support

Metropolis launches GLP-1 monitoring test packages, targets obesity market

Metropolis Healthcare has rolled out three TruHealth GLP-1 test packages for patients preparing for or undergoing obesity treatment, as diagnostics firms move to tap the fast-growing segment

Why alcohol may hit harder for people on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy

A Yale study suggests GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide slow alcohol breakdown in the liver, raising blood alcohol levels even as they reduce toxic byproducts linked to inflammation and liver damage

Biorad Medisys works on 'pacemaker' for managing diabetes with VNS tech

Pune-based Biorad Medisys is developing an implantable vagus nerve stimulation device that aims to improve insulin balance, regulate hunger, and support obesity care without drugs or chemical compound

Why losing weight is harder than we think, and how evolution has shaped it

Advances in obesity and metabolism research may mean that future therapies can be able to turn down these signals that drive the body back to its original weight, even beyond the treatment period

Did you gain weight in first year of college? Here's the science behind it

A new study finds that college students often misjudge how much they eat, especially in dining halls or social settings, highlighting how environment drives calorie intake and weight gain

Russian teens turn to Molecule, a banned pill with deadly weight-loss risks

Marketed as a herbal weight-loss supplement, Molecule has gone viral on Russian TikTok but contains a banned drug linked to heart attacks, anxiety, and hospitalisations among teenagers

Study finds obesity-related cancer cases increasing in young, older adults

Cancer cases linked with obesity, previously observed as rising among the youth, could also be increasing in both young and older adults worldwide, according to a global analysis. Researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London cautioned that new studies focusing solely on younger adults for rise in cancer cases should be carefully considered. The study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, which examined annual cancer incidence from 2003 to 2017 found that five obesity-related cancers -- thyroid, breast, kidney, endometrial, and blood (leukaemia) -- have risen in both adults aged 2049 and those 50 and older. All the five cancers are related to obesity, the team said. The data from 42 countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Australasia drawn from the International Agency for Research on Cancer's 'GLOBOCAN' database was analysed. Rates of cancer incidence were found to have increased among younger adults in

Food addiction: Snacks could trigger the brain like drugs, study shows

Multiple studies have also found that suddenly ending a diet that's high in sugar can cause withdrawal, similar to when people quit opioids or nicotine

Vasundhara Raje urges united effort to tackle global obesity crisis

Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje called for collective efforts to combat obesity. She said, "Many people appear thin on the outside, but they have internal fat, which is more dangerous." Raje, while speaking at a programme, said obesity is becoming an epidemic worldwide and that the effort to curb it should not be the responsibility of politicians alone, but of everyone. She mentioned that she ensures her weight does not increase and follows regular exercise, intermittent fasting, etc., to maintain her health. She also stated that over a billion people worldwide suffer from obesity. "Losing weight is not the end goal but the beginning of a healthy and energetic life," she said. Raje highlighted that nearly 15 per cent of children in India are overweight, making it necessary to educate children about proper nutrition, similar to the practices in Japan.

Body fat may secretly fuel Alzheimer's disease, finds new research

New research from Houston Methodist reveals how obesity may directly drive Alzheimer's disease.Scientists discovered that tiny messengers released by fat tissue, called extracellular vesicles, can carry harmful signals that accelerate the buildup of amyloid-b plaques in the brain.These vesicles even cross the blood-brain barrier, making them powerful but dangerous connectors between body fat and brain health.The study, "Decoding Adipose-Brain Crosstalk: Distinct Lipid Cargo in Human Adipose-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Modulates Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease," was published on October 2 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.It explores the link between obesity, which affects about 40% of the U.S population, and the dreaded neurodegenerative disease affecting more than 7 million people in the U.S.The research was led by Stephen Wong, Ph.D., the John S. Dunn Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering .Alongside Wong, ..

All carbs, little protein: How rice, roti, sugar are hurting India's health

ICMR survey shows 62 per cent of Indian calories come from carbs, linking rice, roti and sugar to rising diabetes, obesity and why adding more protein could reverse the trend