2025 in review: Journals

In 2025, our four scientific, peer-reviewed journals continued to thrive, with each journal experiencing growth in submissions.

Below is a summary of feedback from each of our journal EiCs, as well as an introduction from our newly-appointed Publications Committee Chair, Nick Finer.

Introduction from Chair of World Obesity Publications Committee

The World Obesity journals continue to thrive thanks to the efforts of the journals’ editors and associate editors, as well as the academics and clinicians submitting articles. The table below shows the journal metrics for 2024 (as always there is a lag before the current year data becomes available) as well as information showing a rising number of submissions in the year to October 2025.

While there has been a downward drift in Impact Factors, this is not unique to our journals – for example the International Journal of Obesity and Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism have seen similar decreases over the past few years. This may reflect that as obesity has gained an ever-greater profile, in part due to the growing recognition of obesity as the cause of cardio-metabolic-renal-kidney disease, many high impact articles are increasingly appearing in mainstream medical journals such as New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association, or more highly cited specialist cardiology, liver and renal journals.

The editors are well aware of this growing competition, but the introduction by Wiley of a new platform for the submission and peer review process has proven to present a number of challenges.  As chair of the publications committee, I have had 1:1 discussion with our editors to understand and collate these issues in order to discuss with Wiley the problems and our needs.

Other issues that impact on the workload of editors include the growing use by authors of artificial intelligence to compose their articles and the growing number of poor-quality systematic reviews being submitted by authors who may have little knowledge of the topics they are systematically reviewing.

There is therefore a continuing challenge to maintain the competitive position with respect to other journals. I, and the editors continue to be committed to ensuring the continuing success of the journals. As always, a big thank you to Ellie Needs and the World Obesity office staff for their support.

 Nick Finer, World Obesity Federation Publications Committee Chair

The number of submissions to Obesity Reviews has increased considerably this year, as has the number of articles successfully published in Open Access – these are both healthy trends.

In 2025 we have continued to do what we do well – publish rigorously scrutinised, well cited review articles that benchmark work in the understanding and care and treatment of obesity. We have also worked hard at improving what we can do better- reducing the processing time of articles submitted to the Journal. This has been aided by the diligence of 16 Associate Editors and the support of Editorial Assistant, Johanna Charlton.

Our most well cited publications continue to be in the areas of “guidelines” and “position / consensus statements” that provide parameters for researchers and healthcare professionals; however, it has been interesting and rewarding to see the emergence of highly cited work in popular areas of research including the use of incretin mimetics which are changing the face of obesity treatment. We would like to encourage high quality “narrative reviews” by world leaders across the board from Public Health through Clinical Care to Fundamental Research. This has increasingly become the domain of first tier Journals including Nature Reviews and it is imperative that we hold our well-respected place in this landscape. To aid in this, I am very keen to add to the “Perspectives” category that came into play at Obesity Reviews this year, an interesting twist in the form of “Differing Perspectives” where we can contrive to have two leading voices provide counterpoints to contentious issues – this is one of the places to watch in 2026.

The dual challenges of a rapidly evolving environment in obesity research and an equally fluid and volatile means of communicating information to our readerships promise to make this an exciting 2026 – I look forward to it!

Top Downloaded Papers (as at end October 2025)

• Obesity: A critical risk factor in the COVID-19 pandemic

• Impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on weight-related behaviours among patients with obesity

• A systematic review of reviews: exploring the relationship between obesity, weight loss and health-related quality of life

• COVID-19 and obesity

• Determinants of adherence to lifestyle intervention in adults with obesity: a systematic review

Over the past year, Pediatric Obesity has continued to expand its scientific reach and global relevance, supported by strong performance metrics, rising submissions, and strategic editorial enhancements. We maintained rigorous peer review and rapid decision times while adding several new Associate Editors in neuroimaging, epidemiological sciences, and pediatric obesity medicine/surgery, reflecting the growing breadth and sophistication of research in our field. Importantly, recent content is driving high engagement: eight of the top downloaded papers in 2025 each received more than 2,000 downloads, and five were published in 2024 or 2025, underscoring the journal’s timely influence on emerging clinical and public health priorities.

Key Highlights

• Expanded editorial board with new Associate Editors in neuroimaging, epidemiology, and pediatric obesity medicine/surgery

• Strong engagement across intervention science, social determinants, nutrition transitions, and policy-relevant research

Top Downloaded Papers (as at end October 2025)

• Effectiveness of behavioural and psychological interventions for managing obesity in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis using GRADE minimal important difference estimates

• Effectiveness of pharmacological interventions for managing obesity in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis using GRADE minimal important difference estimates

• Pharmacological interventions for the management of children and adolescents living with obesity: An updated Cochrane systematic review with meta-analyses

• Children and adolescents' exposure to food and beverage marketing in social media apps

• Nutrition transition’s latest stage: Are ultra-processed food increases in low- and middle-income countries dooming our preschoolers’ diets and future health?

Obesity Science and Practice celebrated its 10^th year of publication in 2025. We end the year in style as submissions to the journal increased more than 30% from 2024! Many of these are from emerging countries which reinforces our international focus. We also appear to be seeing an increasing number of papers authored by early career faculty and advanced graduate students from a range of disciplines. Given the size and scope of the global obesity problem, it is inspiring to see more and more young professionals join the fight as we take on this substantial threat to public health around the world.

As of early December 2025, the most read papers in the journal’s history continue to reflect the research that examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in weight promoting behavior. Our most cited papers continue to reflect the breath of topics we cover in the journal. Some are unchanged from last year and some are new to the list, reflecting new areas of inquiry and scholarship. The journal’s home page provides a real time list of our most widely cited and read papers.

Our five most cited papers are currently:

• Liraglutide for weight management: a critical review of the evidence. A. Mehta, S. P. Marso, I. J. Neeland, Pages: 3-14, First Published: 9 November 2016

• Obesity and chronic kidney disease: A current review. Saira Nawaz, Rajkumar Chinnadurai, Saif Al-Chalabi, Philip Evans, Philip A. Kalra, Akheel A. Syed, Smeeta Sinha, Pages: 61-74, First Published: 13 July 2022

• A narrative review of the construct of hedonic hunger and its measurement by the Power of Food Scale. H. M. Espel-Huynh, A. F. Muratore, M. R. Lowe, Pages: 238-249, First Published: 9 February 2018

• Self‐perception of overweight and obesity: A review of mental and physical health outcomes. Eric Robinson, Ashleigh Haynes, Angelina Sutin, Michael Daly, Pages: 552-561, First Published: 11 May 2020

• A pilot randomized controlled trial of liraglutide 3.0 mg for binge eating disorder. Kelly C. Allison, Ariana M. Chao, Maija B. Bruzas, Courtney McCuen-Wurst, Elizabeth Jones, Cooper McAllister, Kathryn Gruber, Robert I. Berkowitz, Thomas A. Wadden, Jena S. Tronieri, Pages: 127-136, First Published: 6 June 2022

Academic institutions, and research and scholarship in particular, faced a number of significant challenges in 2025. Some likely will endure in the new year, and other issues, like the proliferation of the use of artificial intelligence technologies to create scholarly works, await our attention. I look toward the new year with a sense of great appreciation for the support of Wiley, World Obesity, and The Obesity Society, as well as my fellow Editors-in-Chiefs, all who continue to make this role enjoyable and rewarding. I also continue to choose to be optimistic that we will successfully manage these and other challenges as we create the evidence base to address obesity at the individual and population level.