We came across some alarming news this week. For one, despite rising obesity rates, doctors are now counseling patients about weight less, say researchers. And possibly because of this, another study found that most Americans don’t understand the longterm healthy effects of obesity.

Ever wonder why your friend can get away with dining on Big Macs daily, but you can’t? One study suggests genetics affect how your body handles a fast food diet — and just how much weight you put on in response.

Another study suggests that if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you should pay special attention to how food makes you feel. Psychologists say emotions have the biggest impact on weight loss success.

And buyer beware: That orange “whole grain” stamp may not mean as much as you think. Analysis found that “whole grain” products with the stamp were actually less healthy than whole grain products without it.

When scientists dug into the reason breakfast is so beneficial, they found some interesting info. Breakfast eaters aren’t slimmer just because they happen to maintain a lot of other healthy habits. Skipping breakfast sends signals to the brain that the body is fasting, and it needs to get plenty of food the next time it gets a chance. When people ate breakfast, they ate less at lunch, and when they skipped a morning meal, they compensated for the lost calories at lunch — and were more interested in unhealthy, high-calorie foods.

When nearly 100,000 people were studied, the results revealed that spending significant time sitting down increased changes of developing type 2 diabetes, even if the subjects otherwise got enough exercise. This is especially important for folks who are overweight, since there risk for type 2 diabetes is already higher — that’s just one more reason physical activity (think: walking meetings, standing desk, taking walks throughout the day) is important to your health.

This week, scientists released a series of studies on diet and brain function. They found that obesity negatively impacts the brain’s ability to solve complex problems, and that binge-eating might be able to be deferred by the same drugs that help addicts overcome substance addiction.

We really loved this article about food marketers using their powers for good — convincing consumers to buy healthy foods rather than unhealthy ones. While the piece is brief, we’re so glad there’s a discussion emerging about actually changing the value proposition of healthy foods; compared to “pay more money because being healthy is ‘worth it,’” we’re pretty sure “Opt for the healthy drink choice because it’ll make your combo meal less expensive,” is a more compelling offer.

An early study revealed a potential link between a satiation hormone and diabetes, heart attack, and breast cancer in women. While all three are associated with obesity, obesity alone didn’t explain the higher rates found in women who also had high levels of the hormone — neurotensin — in their blood. While the study has yet to show a causal link, researchers think they may be able to use neurotensin levels as an indicator of risk for the diseases associated with it. The good news is, a low-fat diet is shown to lower neurotensin levels, so if the causal link is there, the low-CD diet you’re already on should help.

We all know about the numerous health benefits of losing weight, but a recent study found that before even shedding pounds, just making healthy lifestyle changes like eating better and getting more activity can help your liver produce more “good cholesterol.” That means that even if you haven’t seen results on the scale yet, you’re probably just a bit healthier now that you’re using Noom.