Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have important roles in health and disease, but are chemically complex and difficult to measure accurately. This consensus statement proposes guidelines and best practices on the nomenclature and assessment of ROS, oxidative reactions and oxidative damage in cells, tissues and in vivo.

Holst reflects on the development of GLP-1-based drugs for the therapy of obesity, from early observations to remarkable results in more recent clinical trials, discussing physiological, pharmacological and clinical considerations related to their use.

This authoritative Perspective lays a foundation for the field of obesity research by comparing commonalities and differences between competing models of obesity pathogenesis and by defining terms that are at the core of this discussion.

Veniant et al. report here on a GIPR antagonist conjugated to GLP-1 analogues that reduces body weight and improves metabolic markers in preclinical and phase 1 clinical settings.

Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the overproduction of oxalate in the liver alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in male mice.

This study reports and characterizes the impact of loss-of-function GDF15 variants in human individuals.

The authors systematically study biological influences on the human plasma proteome in a large cohort, thereby revealing causal associations between plasma proteins and modifiable risk factors for protein–disease associations.

LXRα is highly expressed in hepatocytes, where it regulates cholesterol abundance and stimulates lipogenesis. The authors provide evidence in humans and mice that impaired LXRα signalling is hepatotoxic, despite its potent lipogenic actions.

Oral administration of the anti-diabetic drug acarbose is shown to enhance the efficacy of cancer anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in female mice by modulating the composition and metabolism of the gut microbiota.

Exercise training decreases pancreatic islet senescence through glucagon and AMPK signalling in mouse and human islets, which could have implications for T2DM therapeutics.

Although Western societies are mesmerized by the power of new anti-obesity drugs, we must not forget how diet can affect metabolic outcomes. In this Focus issue, and accompanying web collection, we showcase a series of Reviews, Comments and original research articles that present up-to-date evidence on how dietary interventions can affect cardiometabolic health.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are now recognized as powerful modulators of metabolism, and thus the new field of EV-mediated metabolic regulation is growing exponentially. Here, we discuss special experimental considerations for the study of EV function in metabolism.

Despite the high utility and widespread use of Cre driver lines, lack of Cre specificity, Cre-induced toxicity or poor experimental design can affect experimental results and conclusions. Such pitfalls must be considered before embarking on any Cre-based studies in metabolic research.

Time-restricted eating has become a popular diet for weight management and has spurred tremendous interest in the scientific community. The translation of results from TRE trials heavily depends on trial design. In this Comment, we provide general guidelines on optimizing the design and performance of time-restricted eating trials in human participants.