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If current trends continue, almost a quarter (22%) of the people in the world will be obese by 2045 (up from 14% in 2017), and one in eight (12%) will have type 2 diabetes (up from 9% in 2017), according to a study presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria (23-26 May).

Treating leg ulcers within two weeks by closing faulty veins improves healing by 12% compared to standard treatment, according to new findings The research, led by Imperial College London and funded by the National Institute for Health Research , studied 450 UK patients with the most common type of leg ulcers known as venous ulcers.

Children who get less than the recommended amount of sleep for their age are at a higher risk of developing obesity. Research at the University of Warwick has found that children and adolescents who regularly sleep less than others of the same age gain more weight when they grow older and are more likely to become overweight or obese.

The idea that it might be possible to be overweight or obese but not at increased risk of heart disease, otherwise known as the "obesity paradox", has been challenged by a study of nearly 300,000 people published in in the European Heart Journal . ‌This latest research shows that the risk of heart and blood vessel problems, such as heart attacks, strokes and high blood pressure, increases as body mass index (BMI) increases beyond a BMI of 22-23 kg/m2.

Girls who start puberty earlier are more likely to be overweight as adults, finds new research from Imperial College London. The researchers say their findings, published today in the International Journal of Obesity , strengthen existing evidence of a link between the onset of puberty and a woman's body mass in adulthood.

Smoking is associated with significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to new research in China published in The Lancet Public Health . The prevalence of diabetes has increased almost 10-fold in China since the early 1980s, with one in 10 adults in China now affected by diabetes.

Women with bigger waists relative to their hips face a proportionately greater risk of experiencing a heart attack than men who have a similar 'apple shape', new research from The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford has found. The study, of nearly 500,000 people who provided data to the UK Biobank, suggests that in both sexes, the waist-to-hip ratio is a better predictor of heart attacks than general obesity, as measured by weight relative to body size using the body mass index (BMI).

New evidence published in the Cochrane Library today shows that adding calorie labels to menus and next to food in restaurants, coffee shops and cafeterias, could reduce the calories that people consume, although the quality of evidence is low.

Extreme droughts in the Brazilian Amazon are causing forest fires that release significant carbon emissions, reveals a new study. Despite significant achievements by the Brazilian authorities in curbing carbon emissions from deforestation, these gains could be undermined by repeated droughts in the 21st Century.

Behavioural and cognitive scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol today launched a new four year programme of research funded by a prestigious Wellcome Collaborative Award in Science to investigate ways to 'nudge' people towards healthier behaviour. This includes improving diets, reducing alcohol consumption, and stopping smoking - in order to improve health across the population.

Girls who start their periods before they turn 12 are at greater risk of developing heart disease and stroke in later life, according to a new study of nearly 300,000 women in the UK by The George Institute for Global Health at the University of Oxford. Women who give birth at a young age, experience miscarriage or stillbirth, or who go through the menopause early, are also more likely to develop cardiovascular disease when they get older, the study found.

Sleeping for longer each night is a simple lifestyle intervention that could help reduce intake of sugary foods and lead to a generally healthier diet, according to a King's College London study. Sleep is a modifiable risk factor for various conditions including obesity and cardio-metabolic disease with some figures suggesting more than a third of adults in the UK are not getting enough sleep.

Researchers have discovered mutations in a gene related to obesity, offering new treatment possibilities in the fight against the global epidemic. Research into the genetic causes of obesity, and related conditions, could be incredibly valuable in finding ways to treat them. Currently, there are some drugs available or being tested, but knowing what specific mutations cause obesity allows scientists to create drugs that target them specifically.

Over 50s with fewer than 20 teeth at higher risk of musculoskeletal frailty New research by scientists at King's College London has found that tooth loss may contribute to musculoskeletal frailty in the over 50s, with those with fewer than 20 teeth being at greatest risk. Published in Geriatrics & Gerontology International on 11 December, the research led by Dr Wael Sabbah, from King's College London Dental Institute, examined the overall health of 9,338 Americans aged 50 years and older.

Adolescents' non-alcoholic drinks preferences are strongly influenced by their own individual circumstances and lifestyle choices, but not by their families and home environment, according to a new UCL study. The study, published in Scientific Reports and funded by the Medical Research Council, is the first paper to establish the relative importance of genetic and environmental influences on liking for a range of common non-alcoholic beverages, in a large population-based sample of older adolescent twins.

The first study to compare ancient and living female bones shows that women from early agricultural eras had stronger arms than the rowers of Cambridge University's famously competitive boat club. Researchers say the findings suggest a "hidden history" of gruelling manual labour performed by women that stretched across millennia.

For the first time researchers have quantified the number of cancers likely to be caused by diabetes and high body mass index (BMI) worldwide. The study , led by Imperial College London, found that nearly six per cent of new worldwide cancer cases in 2012 were caused by the combined effects of diabetes and being overweight (BMI of over 25 kg/m2) or obese (BMI of over 30 kg/m2).

A new simple test that helps predicts which people with type 2 diabetes will benefit most from weight loss surgery has been developed by a UCL-led team. The study, published today in Diabetic Medicine , also reports that keeping the weight off after bariatric surgery is more important than which type of weight loss operation was done.

'Genome editing is not the answer to world poverty, because food shortage isn't the problem' says a group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) surveyed by the University of Nottingham. This is one of three main findings in a report from the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University, which looks at NGO's scepticism of genome editing technology.

Ancient peoples began to systematically affect evolution of crops up to 30,000 years ago - ten millennia before experts previously thought, says new University of Warwick research Rice, wheat and barley were used so much that their evolution was affected - beginning the process that eventually turned them from wild to domesticated - as long ago as the last Ice Age Einkorn found to be on the evolutionary trajectory to domestication up to 30,000 y