2024 in review: Journals

Our four scientific, peer-reviewed journals performed well in 2024, with each journal experiencing impressive growth.

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

I was appointed to the role of Chair of the Publications Committee in July 2024 and would like to acknowledge and thank Professor Emerita Donna Ryan, my predecessor, for her hard work in the important guiding role for the World Obesity journals, as well as Alexander French, who was such an important anchor in the World Obesity office and has left for a new career direction.

The journal editors’ reports show their continuing success in disseminating knowledge, research and skills to the ever widening community of academics, clinicians and advocates seeking a better understanding of the disease of obesity, its causes, impacts and how it can be prevented and treated. Competition continues to increase from new journals specialising in obesity, and established ones taking ever more high impact papers as obesity has become ‘mainstream ‘. It is perhaps gratifying however that an AI Gemini search for 'How many obesity journals are there?' returns the following:

'There are many journals that focus on obesity research. Some of the most well-known include:  

• Obesity Reviews: This is the highest cited obesity journal and publishes review articles from disciplines related to obesity and its associated comorbidities.  
• Pediatric Obesity: This journal focuses on research related to childhood obesity.  
• Clinical Obesity: This journal publishes clinical research on obesity and its treatment.  
• Obesity Science & Practice: This journal publishes the latest scientific and medical research papers to combat obesity's global pandemic.'  

A major development has been the successful negotiating of a new publishing agreement with Wiley, that substantially increases the financial benefits of the publications to World Obesity, particularly with the growth of open access papers with their contribution to income. The contract is in its final stages and is due to be signed before the end of the year.

There remain challenges: maintaining a competitive position with respect to other journals, attracting high calibre editors and peer reviewers, and driving the already impressive impact factors carried by the journals.  I look forward to working with the other Editors to achieve these goals.

- Nick Finer, World Obesity Federation Publications Committee Chair

Obesity Reviews will receive approximately 500 submissions in 2024, a figure similar to that in the previous year. The challenge to make appropriate decisions to either reject or direct to best informed endpoints has been made easier as the new group of AEs becomes more familiar with, and leans into, the process. I would like to thank this group, as I would Johanna Charlton, Editorial Assistant, whose support is invaluable. The efforts of this group and the rigor of the external review process ensure the ongoing high quality of publications expected of the Journal.

At another level, it has been heartening to see an article from this year bursting into the 10 year most cited list. This paper, ‘Trapped fat: obesity pathogenesis as an intrinsic disorder in fuel partitioning’, contributes to the “Etiology and Pathogenesis of Obesity” – a section of the Journal dealing essentially with the basic science of obesity. I am excited because this is an area that we would like to develop and one which has not been well represented over recent years. The combination of world-class authors who can provide unique insight and a specific but important topic are the necessary ingredients of these papers.

The other area that we would like to promote moving forward from 2024 is that of ‘invited/ solicited' reviews from thought leaders and Supplements led by these researchers. To this end we have two exciting prospects for Supplements in hand that should generate considerable interest and citations involving practical processes for assessing food environments and insights into the practicalities of personalised management of those living with obesity.

As such, the signs are encouraging to be able to increase our efficiency, continue to do what we do well and do better where there is room for improvement.

Clinical Obesity has developed strongly and has continued to receive an increasing number of submissions in 2024 (64% higher than the previous year). The journal’s impact factor is currently 2.2.

The journal is continually expanding its editorial group to cover the breadth of clinical obesity. Submitted manuscripts span from all corners of the world reflecting the journal’s global reach. There has been an increase in the number of solicited and unsolicited, narrative and systematic review articles (doubled from previous year) that have covered key aspects of clinical obesity. The journal is also receiving an increasing number of manuscripts covering bariatric surgery. The correspondence section has provided a good arena for areas of debate in clinical obesity especially in the era of modern medications.

The journal is increasingly getting more requests to publish meeting abstracts. The acceptance rate for the journal currently sits at 34%. With the increasing use of the term  ‘clinical obesity’, the journal is well-placed to publish key articles directly related to obesity management and care. The most cited papers are still dominated by work covering the COVID-19 pandemic.

The most accessed recent publications demonstrate strong interest in the latest published articles and include:

• 2017: A systematic review of reviews: exploring the relationship between obesity, weight loss and health‐related quality of life
• 2021: Use of motivational interviewing in behavioural interventions among adults with obesity: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
• 2023: Effect of once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide 2.4 mg on weight- and health-related quality of life in an East Asian population: Patient-reported outcomes from the STEP 6 trial
• 2024: What is known about the use of weight loss medication in women with overweight/obesity on fertility and reproductive health outcomes? A scoping review
• 2024: Obstructive sleep apnoea in obesity: A review
• 2024: ACTION APAC: Understanding perceptions, attitudes and behaviours in obesity and its management across south and Southeast Asia
• 2024: Managing the new wave of weight loss medication in general practice: A qualitative study

Pediatric Obesity has sustained a strong presence in 2024, although we have experienced a fall in our impact factor to 2.7. As I write this summary in late November, we are projected to have received a total of 386 submissions which is up from the 2023 total of 354 submissions.

Our team of 23 Associate Editors from 10 countries has continued to grow and they are dedicated to timely and high-quality reviews, which is always a challenge. Like many other Journals, our biggest challenge is finding reviewers. However, we have maintained a rapid turnaround with an average of 28 days to first decision and annual downloads close to 300,000.

Our top five downloaded papers in 2024 (as at end October) were:

• Prospective associations of age at complementary feeding and exclusive breastfeeding duration with body mass index at 5-6 years within different risk groups
• Children and adolescents' exposure to food and beverage marketing in social media apps
• Positive parenting approaches and their association with child eating and weight: A narrative review from infancy to adolescence
• Pharmacological interventions for the management of children and adolescents living with obesity: An update of a Cochrane systematic review with meta-analyses
• Extended international (IOTF) body mass index cutoffs for thinness, overweight and obesity

Obesity Science and Practice is on track to set a new record high for submissions in 2024. Not only are we seeing an increase in total submissions, but we are witnessing a nice balance between submissions from countries around the world where scholarship in obesity is developing to articles from some of the world’s most well established thought leaders and their teams. On the heels of our special issue on Obesity in Asia in 2023, we currently have an open call for submissions for a special issue dedicated to Obesity in Latin America which we hope to publish in 2025. I hope that this issue increases the number of empirical papers, reviews, and commentaries from countries where obesity rates continue to rise.

As of early December 2024, our most cited papers reflect the breath of topics we cover in the journal. They include an early review of liraglutide, a study of how the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted weight-related behaviors, articles on hunger and high intensity training, and a review of self-perceptions of obesity. Several of our most widely read papers also have reflected the valuable lessons learned from the effects of the pandemic on nutrition, eating behavior, physical activity, and weight control. 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
• Weight‐related lifestyle behaviours and the COVID‐19 crisis: An online survey study of UK adults during social lockdown, Eric Robinson, Steven Gillespie, Andrew Jones, Pages: 735-740, First Published: 24 July 2020
• 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
• High intensity training in obesity: a Meta‐analysis, Y. Türk, W. Theel, M. J. Kasteleyn, F. M. E. Franssen, P. S. Hiemstra, A. Rudolphus, C. Taube, G. J. Braunstahl, Pages: 258-271, First Published: 29 May 2017

2025 will represent the tenth year of the journal. Several years ago, I thought that 10 years as the founding Editor-in-Chief would be a nice round number and tenure in the position. I am pleased to share that earlier in 2024, Wiley, World Obesity, and The Obesity Society extended my contract through 2026. I am honored by the demonstration of support from the three organizations and remain eager to work with them, and my fellow Editors-in-Chief, to guide the journal through its continued growth and maturation.