Science AI Journal
Medicine · Research topic

Open research questions in Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

521 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 4,984 Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • the study had a small sample size of 13 fathers, - the study was limited to fathers from Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, - the study did not include a control group, - the study was based on self-reported data from fathers

    Fathering, family meals, and child health and well‐being: A life course perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had a limited sample size within the extreme sleep duration groups. The study's findings should be considered exploratory and should not be over-interpreted as a clear risk factor. The study did not investigate the mechanisms underlying the association between sleep duration and childhood obesity.

    The impact of dietary and lifestyle factors on obesity among chinese children during the first 6 years of life: a 2014-2015 multi-centre study · 2026 · DOI

  • The study relies on modelled estimates and may not reflect real-world data, - The analysis is limited to children and adolescents aged 5-19 years, - The study does not account for potential biases in the underlying data sources, - The projections are based on historical trends and may not capture future changes in policies or interventions

    Global trends, projections, and inequalities in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2040: a modelling study · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to examine the potential health impacts of the PE entrance-examination policy among middle school students. The observed associations may depend on how students interpret policy signals and report managing examination-related stress. More research is needed to understand the relationships between policy cognition, perceived stress, coping dimensions, and health behaviors.

    Policy cognition, perceived stress, coping dimensions, and adolescent health behaviors under physical education examination reform: a cross-sectional SEM study · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of awareness of MetS in children and adolescents. The delayed diagnosis and treatment of obesity in children due to the belief that 'chubby kids are healthy'. The need to establish diagnostic thresholds based on objective disease endpoints.

    Metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: definitions, epidemiology, pathophysiology, interventions, and challenges · 2025 · DOI

  • our understanding of MetS in children and adolescents is still limited - there is no consensus on the definition for MetS in children and adolescents - diagnostic thresholds need to be established based on objective disease endpoints

    Metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents: definitions, epidemiology, pathophysiology, interventions, and challenges · 2025 · DOI

  • Ensuring the validity and applicability of the normative standards. Addressing the lack of a universally accepted standard for assessing the growth and health status of children and adolescents. Capturing the characteristics of both early adolescence and late adolescence in the study.

    Establishing age- and sex-specific anthropometric growth references standards for South Punjab adolescents utilizing the LMS method: findings from the Pakistani population · 2024 · DOI

  • The South Punjabi adolescent population lacked specific growth and normative standards. There is a need for a universally accepted standard for assessing the growth and health status of children and adolescents.

    Establishing age- and sex-specific anthropometric growth references standards for South Punjab adolescents utilizing the LMS method: findings from the Pakistani population · 2024 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to understand the trends and characteristics of MHO in the Saudi population, - Longitudinal studies could provide more insight into the development of MHO, - Studies examining the economic burden of MHO in Saudi Arabia could be valuable

    Trends and characteristics of the metabolically healthy obese phenotype in an Arab population · 2024 · DOI

  • further research is needed to explore the role of fathers in family meals, - studies should investigate the impact of family meal interventions on child health outcomes, - research should examine the barriers and facilitators of family meals in diverse populations, - future studies should include a larger and more diverse sample of fathers

    Fathering, family meals, and child health and well‐being: A life course perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the association between sleep duration and childhood obesity. Studies should examine the effects of sleep duration on childhood obesity in different populations and contexts. Research should focus on developing effective interventions to promote healthy sleep habits in children. The non-linear association between sleep duration and childhood obesity risk should be further explored.

    The impact of dietary and lifestyle factors on obesity among chinese children during the first 6 years of life: a 2014-2015 multi-centre study · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to understand the drivers of the growing burden of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity, - Studies should investigate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing overweight and obesity in different settings, - Research should focus on developing and evaluating policies to address socioeconomic inequalities in overweight and obesity, - More data are needed on the prevalence and trends of overweight and obesity in low- and middle-income countries

    Global trends, projections, and inequalities in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2040: a modelling study · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the relationship between detailed body composition and BP across nutritional extremes remains poorly understood.

    DXA-derived body composition and blood pressure in underweight and overweight adolescent girls in rural and urban South Africa · 2026 · DOI

  • However, heterogeneous protocols, risk-of-bias concerns, very low-to-low certainty, and PIs crossing the null mean that the magnitude and generalizability of any metabolic benefit remain uncertain.

    Effects and Moderators of Exergaming on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Children and Adolescents: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • While the literature has extensively examined the effects of sales promotions, there is limited research addressing consumer heterogeneity in response to such promotions.

    Effectiveness of Sales Promotions on Vegetable Consumption Among Heterogeneous Consumer Groups: A Causal Forest Approach · 2026 · DOI

  • CONCLUSIONS: Gaps in knowledge and inconsistent practices suggest key opportunities for targeted interventions.

    Physical Activity and Sleep, Knowledge and Perceptions of Child Movement Behaviours and Childcare Practices Among Home Providers: A Survey Study · 2026 · DOI

  • Furthermore, limited studies have addressed daytime sleep health in such settings.

    Physical Activity and Sleep, Knowledge and Perceptions of Child Movement Behaviours and Childcare Practices Among Home Providers: A Survey Study · 2026 · DOI

  • However, culturally validated instruments to assess these behaviours are lacking in Portuguese primary care.

    Translation and Cross‐Cultural Adaptation of the Family Nutrition and Physical Activity Screening Tool for Portuguese Well‐Child Visits · 2026 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: The preschool environment is a critical determinant of children movement behaviour; however, evidence integrating the 24-h movement behaviour remains scarce, especially in the global south.

    Preschool Environment and 24‐h Behaviour Movement in Uruguayan Early Childhood: A Compositional Data Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the cross-sectional associations among adolescents' policy cognition, perceived stress, distinct coping dimensions, and health behaviors remain insufficiently understood.

    Policy cognition, perceived stress, coping dimensions, and adolescent health behaviors under physical education examination reform: a cross-sectional SEM study · 2026 · DOI

  • Background Preschool age is a critical yet underexplored period for the early emergence of dietary behaviours and excess weight.

    Fair Play a Tavola: a school-based framework integrating nutrition education and anthropometric screening for early identification of excess weight in preschool children · 2026 · DOI

  • School sports environments serve as a critical determinant of adolescent physical activity (PA), yet the conditions under which this relationship strengthens or weakens remain insufficiently understood.

    Digital health literacy moderates the school sports environment and physical activity pathway among Chinese adolescents: a health equity perspective · 2026 · DOI

  • Childhood obesity-related metabolic complications are common in Northwest China, yet region-specific evidence and risk-stratification tools are lacking.

    An interpretable machine-learning model identifies obesity-related metabolic complications in children attending a tertiary obesity clinic · 2026 · DOI

  • Background/Objectives: Hispanic adolescents experience disproportionately high rates of obesity and diet-related health risks, yet the family and parenting factors that shape their dietary behaviors remain incompletely understood.

    Family Mealtimes in Hispanic Households: Associations of General Parenting Styles and Food Parenting Practices with Adolescent Food Group Intake · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite the importance of these behaviours for healthy development, there is limited data on the proportion of toddlers who meet these recommendations.

    Compliance With the 24‐h Movement Behaviours Guidelines Among Brazilian Toddlers · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet sub-topic

This page shows what the Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, run the guided finder — it searches the gap library on demand and checks candidates against 250M+ OpenAlex works.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Medicine

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
2,044 open questions
Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
1,964 open questions
Smoking Behavior and Cessation
990 open questions
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
974 open questions
Innovations in Medical Education
960 open questions
Physical Activity and Health
923 open questions
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
839 open questions
Schizophrenia research and treatment
709 open questions
521 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 4,984 Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 120,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? A Tier 1–5 acceptance probability in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck prior-publication & salami-slicing risk across 8 sources.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.