Researchers at Texas A&M have designed a device that stimulates the endings of the vagus nerve, which is responsible for the regulation of food intake and might help with weight loss via a simple operative procedure for implantation. Researchers said their centimeter-sized device provides the feeling of fullness by stimulating the endings of the vagus nerve with light. Unlike other devices that require a power cord, their device is wireless and can be controlled externally from a remote radio frequency source.

Researchers at the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) and Tampa General Hospital (TGH), examining how obesity affected the management and outcomes of postpartum haemorrhage have reported that high-risk obstetric patients, such as women with obesity, may need some additional support or a different treatment protocol for postpartum haemorrhage. The findings, ‘The Impact of Obesity on the Management and Outcomes of Postpartum Hemorrhage’, were published in the American Journal of Perinatology.

A new study including over 52,000 participants has reported that those who had detectable brown fat were less likely than their peers to suffer cardiac and metabolic conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes to coronary artery disease.

The study, ‘Brown adipose tissue is associated with cardiometabolic health', published in Nature Medicine, by far the largest of its kind in humans, confirms and expands the health benefits of brown fat suggested by previous studies.

Scientists from Hyderabad, India, have shown that adding an experimental cancer drug to a widely used diabetes treatment improves blood glucose control and weight loss in mice, according to a study published in eLife. The results pave the way for clinical studies of the new drug combination as a more effective long-term treatment for millions of people with diabetes and obesity.

Researchers looking at the changes over time in alcohol use and unhealthy alcohol use two years after bariatric surgery have reported that for every 21 patients who undergo Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and every 29 patients who undergo laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), on average, one from each group will develop unhealthy alcohol use.

Researchers at Oregon State University have found organisms in the gut microbiome could play a key role in type 2 diabetes, opening the door to possible probiotic treatments for a serious metabolic disease. A key risk factor for type 2 diabetes is being overweight, often a result of a western diet in combination with low physical activity. The paper, ‘Transkingdom interactions between Lactobacilli and hepatic mitochondria attenuate western diet-induced diabetes’, was published in Nature Communications.

UT Southwestern scientists have discovered a type of cell responsible, at least in mice, for triggering inflammation in fat tissue. When fat cells in the body are stuffed with excess fat, the surrounding tissue becomes inflamed. That chronic, low-level inflammation is one of the driving factors behind many of the diseases associated with obesity. The findings, ‘Perivascular mesenchymal cells control adipose-tissue macrophage accrual in obesity’, published in Nature Metabolism, could eventually lead to new ways to treat obesity.

More than one-third of UK teenagers are starting adult life with excess weight (either overweight or with obesity) and rates are even higher among the poorest, a study led by UCL researchers has reported. The research, published in a briefing paper by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) at the UCL Social Research Institute, shows that one in five (21%) young people had obesity at age 17, and a further one in seven (14%) were overweight, based on data collected in 2018-19.

The Obesity Society (TOS) has announced Dr Catherine ‘Cathy’ Kotz, a leading researcher into the neuroscience of obesity and energy balance, is the new president of the organisation. Kotz's goals for the year include sustaining and expanding on the considerable progress TOS has made in restructuring the Society's sections and committees, the reach with other partner organizations, the new Corporate Obesity Roundtable; education, clinical and policy efforts; and excellence in the annual meeting.

Operating Room Systems (ORS) and Bowa Medical UK have entered a collaborative agreement to offer safe and comprehensive smoke management solutions to NHS and private healthcare providers. Under the joint venture agreement, Bowa Medical UK will work in partnership with ORS across the UK supporting the sales and marketing of the Lexion brand, consisting of three devices for the optimal surgical insufflation environment:

The proportion of adults with diagnosed diabetes trebled between 1994 and 2019, according to researchers from UCL and the National Center for Social Research (NatCen), who have analysed the latest results from the Health Survey for England (HSE). The report, which was commissioned by NHS Digital, analysed data from over 8,200 adults and 2,000 children living in private households in England and shows the percentage of people who have been diagnosed with diabetes has risen since 1994, from 3% to 9% among men and from 2% to 6% among women.

Apollo Endosurgery has gained FDA 510k clearance of the X-Tack Endoscopic HeliX Tacking System, a new, through-the-scope, suture-based device designed specifically for closing and healing defects in the lower gastrointestinal tract with additional applications in the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Dr Christian Eusebio has performed first bariatric metabolic surgery procedure in Guam’s at the Guam Regional Medical Center (GRMC). The surgery marks the realisation of a three-year goal for Eusebio, who has been working diligently to successfully implement the island’s first bariatric, surgery programme to combat Guam’s obesity and diabetes epidemic. The surgery went smoothly with no complications and the patient was discharged the following day. Eusebio is a surgeon at Island Surgical Center with privileges at GRMC.

Novo Nordisk has received FDA approval for an updated label for Saxenda (liraglutide) injection 3mg for use in the treatment of obesity in adolescents (12–17 years) with a body weight above 60kg and an initial body mass index (BMI) corresponding to 30 kg/m2 or greater for adults, as an adjunct to reduced-calorie meals and increased physical activity.

Follow-up telehealth visits have proved to be highly effective during the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrates that surgical practices can continue to thrive with the help of telemedicine during the pandemic, according to a study looking at patient volume from Stony Brook Medicine's Bariatric and Metabolic Weight Loss Center.

Patients who have had bariatric surgery may not be receiving follow up care from their GPs as recommended in clinical guidelines, according to researchers from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Birmingham. Although clinical guidelines recommend that patients receive nutritional and weight monitoring annually for life following surgery, this study reported that this does not appear to be happening in most cases, leading to weight regain and malnutrition

Obesity is associated with poor COVID-19 outcomes how study this is not due to increased inflammation, but instead may be driven by respiratory issues or other factors, according to researchers from Boston Medical Center (BMC). These findings were reported in the paper, ‘Clinical outcomes and inflammatory marker levels in patients with Covid-19 and obesity at an inner-city safety net hospital’, in the journal PLOS ONE.

A higher body mass index (BMI) increases the risk of cancer for men and a higher waist-to-hip ratio increases the risk for women, according to a study of over 100,000 people led by researchers at the University of Bristol and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Unravelling the links among obesity, aging, telomere lengths and metabolic diseases is the subject of the study published in Nature Metabolism by a collaborative research team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus conducting studies in mice have discovered that fructose stimulates the release of vasopressin, a hormone linked to obesity and diabetes but water can suppress the hormone and alleviate these conditions.