Obesity research — NIH Funding Overview
Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed June 9, 2026Data refreshed June 9, 2026Editorial standards
Obesity research at NIH is funded by NIDDK, NICHD, NHLBI, and NIA, covering metabolic mechanisms, neural regulation of appetite, behavioral and surgical interventions, pediatric obesity, and the metabolic syndrome cluster.
Funding snapshot
Award data on this page reflects a snapshot of NIH RePORTER records last refreshed on June 9, 2026. For live numbers, use the interactive trends view.
Why this matters now
The clinical impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists has reshaped obesity research priorities since 2021, expanding NIH portfolios in long-term outcomes, weight regain, neuropsychiatric effects, and combination therapies. Pediatric and equity-focused obesity research has also grown under the Healthy Eating Research initiatives.
How NIH funds this area
Mechanisms span R01, U01, R21, P01, and clinical trial cooperative agreements (U10, U24). The data below covers all NIH awards mentioning obesity in title, abstract, or terms.
How to use this funding brief
Use this page to determine whether the opportunity is mechanistic, behavioral, pediatric, surgical, or therapeutics-led. Compare NIDDK and NICHD patterns and avoid treating all obesity awards as one market when the underlying review and intervention models differ.
Official source: NIDDK: Obesity research
Search tactics
- Search "bariatric" for surgical research; "ingestive behavior" for neural mechanisms.
- Pediatric obesity is funded heavily by NICHD; metabolic mechanisms by NIDDK.
- Combine with "GLP-1", "tirzepatide", or "incretin" for therapeutics-focused subsets.
What the data shows
- Funding peaked in FY2023 at $2.5B. The FY2025 total of $2.4B is +2% versus FY2021.
- The number of awards fell about 10% in FY2025 even as total dollars grew — funding is concentrating in fewer, larger awards.
- About 89% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
- The average FY2025 award was $648K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.
Editorial read
Obesity is the clearest flat portfolio in our tracked set: FY2025 funding is barely above FY2021 and sits below the FY2023 peak — effectively a decline in real terms. The contrast with GLP-1’s rapid growth is the story: therapeutic success has so far pulled NIH money into incretin pharmacology rather than expanding the broader obesity portfolio, so behavioral and population proposals are competing for a base that is not growing.
Yearly NIH Awards for Obesity research
Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.
| Fiscal Year | Project Count | Total Funding | Avg Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 4,151 | $2,330,647,697 | $561,467 |
| FY2022 | 4,240 | $2,387,803,626 | $563,161 |
| FY2023 | 4,289 | $2,523,490,800 | $588,363 |
| FY2024 | 4,090 | $2,410,132,809 | $589,275 |
| FY2025 | 3,680 | $2,385,840,697 | $648,326 |
| FY2026 | 1,463 | $863,144,075 | $589,982 |
Open the full interactive trends view for Obesity research →
Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)
Which NIH institutes funded the most Obesity projects in the most recent 90-day window.
| Institute | Awards (90d) | Funding (90d) |
|---|---|---|
| NIH | 494 | $295,073,951 |
| VA | 6 | $0 |
Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)
Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for Obesity in the recent period.
Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)
Universities and research organizations with the most Obesity awards in the most recent 90-day window.
- WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY — 13 awards
- UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER — 12 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES — 12 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — 9 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM — 8 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER — 8 awards
- RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES — 8 awards
- UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH — 8 awards
Recently Awarded Obesity research Grants
Twelve most recent awards mentioning Obesity, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.
Implementation of the New Pediatric Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline in Rural Families and Clinics: A Randomized Clinical Trial
5R01NR021278-03Ann Davis · UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS MEDICAL CENTER, KS · $622,319 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Obesity poses a major health risk, contributing to elevated morbidity and mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Children living in rural areas have higher rates of obesity than their urban counterparts. Based upon our extensive prior work, we propose a multilevel factorial design randomized controlled trial…
Controlling Neuropilin-2 Signaling to Improve Lymphatic Function
5R01HL179216-02DIANE BIELENBERG · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, MA · $848,380 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Lymphatics are vital for fluid recycling, immune surveillance, and lipid uptake. Abnormal lymphatics lead to lymphedema, metabolic changes, inflammation, and infections and contribute to the pathophysiology of many chronic illnesses. In response to the NIH mission (NOT-HL-23-099) promoting research on the biology of the lymphatic system to advance discovery…
Perfluoroalkyl substances and risk of kidney cancer in US men and women
5R01ES034014-04Tongzhang Zheng · BROWN UNIVERSITY, RI · $629,329 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Abstract PFAS are a class of man-made organofluorine compounds whose presence in the environment is an emerging, worldwide public health concern and a priority in environmental and human health research. Many PFAS are environmentally persistent, bioaccumulative, and have long half-lives in humans. Of particular concern is that environmental exposure to PFAS…
Automated Assessment of Infant Sleep/Wake States, Physical Activity, and Household Noise Using a Multimodal Wearable Device and Deep Learning Models
5R01DK138866-03Nancy McElwain · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, IL · $548,423 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Sleep and physical activity/sedentary behavior are physiological and behavioral processes that are intricately intertwined. Their Interconnectedness is particularly pronounced during early infancy when these systems are rapidly developing in concert with neurobiological changes. Yet, sleep and physical activity/sedentary behavior are often studied in…
Lateral Hypothalamic circuit dysfunction underlying the development of diet-induced obesity
5R01DK136641-04Mark Rossi · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES, NJ · $438,383 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01Project Summary The brain is a critical mediator of energy homeostasis, and neurocircuit dysfunction is thought to underlie obesity pathogenesis. Within the brain, the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) exerts control over feeding behavior and body weight. Because of its considerable molecular and functional complexity, the role of LHA neurons in the…
Mechanisms of maternal obesity and feto-placental development in preeclampsia
5R01HD114145-03Jennifer Sones · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, CO · $500,893 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01Project Summary: Maternal obesity with increased circulating inflammatory markers can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia (PE). The clinical signs of PE include maternal hypertension and proteinuria during the second half of gestation. While PE presents later in pregnancy, its origins are thought to begin early in pregnancy or even…
Adipocyte-Eosinophil Communication and Its Role in Regulation of Airway Function
5R01AI184705-02Sergejs Berdnikovs · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, CO · $720,187 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY The concurrent rise in the prevalence of asthma and obesity poses a significant burden on health care system. Obesity accompanied by loss of insulin sensitivity and compensatory hyperinsulinemia drives severe inflammation and is a defining feature of poorly controlled asthma endotype. While we recognize that obesity exacerbates and promotes…
Regulation of Insulin Sensitivity by a Novel Adipokine
1R01DK147451-01Sona Kang · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CA · $794,101 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01Project Summary Obesity and diabetes are escalating global health crises, with insulin resistance serving as a key pathogenic feature of both obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Adipose tissue is a central regulator of systemic insulin sensitivity, and its dysfunction is a hallmark of obesity-related metabolic diseases. Adipokines play critical roles in…
Early Life Stress, Cellular Vulnerability, and the Developmental Programming of Metabolic Disease
1R01DK147563-01Lauren Gyllenhammer · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, CA · $776,971 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY Early life stress (ELS), particularly during fetal development, is a critical risk factor for long-term health, including obesity and metabolic disorders. This project investigates how prenatal stress exposure is biologically embedded, leading to increased vulnerability to abdominal adiposity and metabolic dysfunction. Our long-term goal is…
Interactions between the Gut Microbiome, Intestinal Development and Metabolic Health after Fetal Growth Restriction
5K08DK139411-02Stephanie Gilley · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER, CO · $129,510 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · K08PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Fetal growth restriction (FGR) impacts 10-20% of pregnancies worldwide and increases the offspring’s risk for later development of obesity and type 2 diabetes due to incompletely understood mechanisms. The focus of this proposal is the nexus of intestinal development and gut microbiome establishment. Gut microbial composition…
Promoting Uptake of Evidence-Based DiaBetes and Prediabetes Screening to Increase HeaLth Effectiveness Study (PEBBLES)
1R01DK142813-01A1OBIDIUGWU DURU · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, CA · $751,436 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Recent updates to US Preventive Services Task Force guidelines now recommend T2D/prediabetes screening for all adults ages 35-70 with overweight/obesity (BMI >25). These guidelines expanded to include younger ages (prior guidelines started at age 40) and specify that individuals who screen positively for prediabetes be referred to…
Impact of circulating and tissue-specific lipids on vascular function and insulin sensitivity in chronic night shift workers
3R01HL168081-03S1Josiane Broussard · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY, CO · $197,274 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT There is growing recognition that timing of behaviors, such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity, have a significant impact on human health and disease risk. For example, when people are awake at the “wrong” time of the day (i.e. during the biological night), a mismatch occurs between behavior and biology, termed circadian…
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