ReviewNature metabolism2024
On the pathogenesis of obesity: causal models and missing pieces of the puzzle.
Review in Nature metabolism, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Telemedicine Nursing Interventions in the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current obesity reports · 2025Pooled it
- Short-term effects of weight-loading on heart rate variability in obese adults.Physiological reports · 2026Trial
- Coated glucose microbeads stimulate enteric hormone release and improve glucose tolerance in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2025Trial
- Short-term effects of high-protein, lower-carbohydrate ultra-processed foods on human energy balance.Nature metabolism · 2025Trial
- Macronutrient mixtures and interactions in health and disease.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Beyond Deterministic Fetal Programming: Intrauterine Exposures and the Multifactorial Origins of Adiposity.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Protein Decoys, Alcohol, and Energy Intake: Testing a Mechanistic-Ecological Model.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Does the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model Explain Obesity? Evidence from Mechanistic and Clinical Studies: A Critical Review.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- The evolving landscape of obesity pharmacotherapy.Nature reviews. Drug discovery · 2026Review
- A mental model of obesity: comparing expert and public perceptions in Ireland, the UK, and the US.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Article
- Genetic and molecular signatures highlight diverse pathways linking obesity to type 2 diabetes.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Chronic Caffeine Consumption Prevents Body Weight Gain and Glucose Intolerance in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Mice Model.Metabolites · 2026Article
- Fructose: metabolic signal and modern hazard.Nature metabolism · 2026Review
- Article
- Current Trends and Perspectives on Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis in East Asia.Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome · 2026Review
- How does obesity develop-and are specific foods to blame?Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2026Article
- Relationship between body adiposity and glycemic control in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.Acta diabetologica · 2026Article
- Adipocyte-specific NR5A2 deficiency ameliorates diet-induced metabolic syndrome by suppressing adipose tissue inflammation.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Central Irisin Administration Attenuates Hypothalamic TLR4/MyD88-Mediated Neuroinflammatory Signaling in Diet-Induced Obese Mice.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Article
- Cycloastragenol Improves Fatty Acid Metabolism Through NHR-49/FAT-7 Suppression and Potent AAK-2 Activation inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Application of the physical laws of energy and mass conservation at the whole-body level is not necessarily informative about causal mechanisms of weight gain and the development of obesity. The energy balance model (EBM) and the carbohydrate-insulin model (CIM) are two plausible theories, among several others, attempting to explain why obesity develops within an overall common physiological framework of regulation of human energy metabolism. These models have been used to explain the pathogenesis of obesity in individuals as well as the dramatic increases in the prevalence of obesity worldwide over the past half century. Here, we summarize outcomes of a recent workshop in Copenhagen that brought together obesity experts from around the world to discuss causal models of obesity pathogenesis. These discussions helped to operationally define commonly used terms; delineate the structure of each model, particularly focussing on areas of overlap and divergence; challenge ideas about the importance of purported causal factors for weight gain; and brainstorm on the key scientific questions that need to be answered. We hope that more experimental research in nutrition and other related fields, and more testing of the models and their predictions will pave the way and provide more answers about the pathogenesis of obesity than those currently available.
Indexed as
Identifiers
39164418What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.