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Obesity is often characterised as nothing more than greed and lack of willpower. ̽»¨Ö±²¥truth is far more complex.

Is it time to ditch the car and find a more active way of getting to work? It could save your life, say Oliver Mytton and Jenna Panter from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, writing for ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation.

Common genetic factors that influence muscle strength in humans have been identified for the first time in a study led by researchers from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge and published today in Nature Communications.Ìý

Dr Adina Feldman, writing for ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation, looks at how diabetes can be prevented even in people who are moderately overweight.

When it comes to health claims around the food we eat, it’s worth taking a closer look at the science behind the headlines, say Eirini Trichia and Professor Nita Forouhi from the MRC Epidemiology Unit, writing for ̽»¨Ö±²¥Conversation.

Extending NHS weight loss programmes from one session per week for 12-weeks to one session per week for a year helped people who are overweight to lose more weight and keep it off for longer, according to a study published in ̽»¨Ö±²¥Lancet, and led by researchers from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge, ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Liverpool and ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Oxford.

̽»¨Ö±²¥largest genomic analysis of puberty timing in men and women conducted to date has identified 389 genetic signals associated with puberty timing, four times the number that were previously known.Ìý

A large-scale genetic study has provided strong evidence that the development of insulin resistance – a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart attacks and one of the key adverse consequences of obesity – results from the failure to safely store excess fat in the body.

Britons eating a Mediterranean diet could lower their risk of developing heart disease and stroke, according to research published in the open access journal BMC Medicine.

̽»¨Ö±²¥health risks associated with sitting for eight or more hours a day – whether at work, home or commuting – can be eliminated with an hour or more of physical activity a day, according to a study from an international team of researchers.