The Olive Oil Hunter, Author at Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil

Olive Oil Hunter News #273

Posted on July 17, 2026July 15, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Churrascas Recipe, Spotlight on Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Cooking, The Right Rolling Pin for the Job, More Concerns over Ultra-processed Foods, and Travel: The New Fountain of Youth

I came back from my most recent trip to Chile with more recipes than could fit in the Pressing Report, so I’m sharing the first one of two with you here. Delicious and easy-to-make churrascas, traditional Chilean flatbreads, cook up fast on the stovetop. They’re perfect for filling taco-style with grilled meat cubes, topping with shredded cheese and salsa, slicing in half for sandwiches, or simply drizzling with fresh-pressed Chilean olive oil! Then check out new research on the risks of eating ultra-processed foods, plus more evidence of the positive effects of travel.

Churrascas

Churrascas
Churrascas are a great last-minute homemade bread because the dough needs just a short amount of rest after kneading. While this recipe calls for making them on the stovetop, you can also make them on your grill, cooking as many as will fit all at once. Do enjoy them right away, while they’re still soft and pillowy. Note: Don’t confuse churrasca the bread with churrasco the grilled meat that’s often stuffed into a sandwich—you will find a great recipe for that in the current Chilean Pressing Report.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 cup warm tap water, to start
Directions

Step 1

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Combine the oil and 3/4 cup water in a measuring cup, whisk, and add to the bowl; stir to make a dough ball. If the dough is raggy, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead with the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes or by hand for 10 minutes until smooth.

Step 2

Turn out the dough and cut into 6 portions. Roll each one into a ball, then roll them out, one at a time, with a rolling pin, doing quarter-turns until about 5 inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch thick. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Heat a griddle, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add two churrascas and cook for about 5 minutes, turn with tongs, and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat twice more with the rest of the rounds.
Yields 6 churrascas

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Cooking

While many Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club members love drizzling EVOO on food or even sipping it as a daily health ritual, olive oil is also meant for cooking. I was pleased when, in 2019, the famed Culinary Institute of America (CIA) put out a whitepaper promoting olive oil to improve the health of the planet and its inhabitants, declaring it to be the best cooking fat from a health and sustainability perspective. What’s more, CIA recommended olive oil for all methods of cooking, including high-heat frying, dismissing the myth about a low smoke point. I encourage you to expand your olive oil recipe repertoire.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

The Right Rolling Pin for the Job

If you only have one rolling pin, make it atapered French rolling pin, say expert bakers. It’s a single solid piece of wood that tapers at the ends. The tapered ends allow your fingers to wrap around the wood for good downward pressure and make it easier to make the quarter-turns needed for smooth dough with uniform thickness.

The second one to have in your kitchen is a dowel or cylindrical rolling pin. It’s great for gettingeven thickness across large sheets of dough, no matter what thickness you need to achieve. This straight-shaped rolling pin has the same consistent diameter along its entire length.

The common American or roller-style pin has handles on either end that rotate on internal bearings, so you can push down firmly without gripping the roller. It’s best for stiffer doughs, like cookies.

For Your Best Health

More Concerns over Ultra-processed Foods

A new study, published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, suggests that eating more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) could make it harder to stay focused and may contribute to factors linked to dementia, even among people who otherwise follow healthy diets. UPFs include products such as soft drinks, packaged salty snacks, and ready-made meals. Unlike fresh or minimally processed foods, these products undergo extensive industrial processing.

Researchers from Monash University, the University of São Paulo, and Deakin University analyzed dietary and cognitive data from more than 2,100 middle-aged and older Australian adults who did not have dementia. They used data from the Healthy Brain Project, which is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Dementia Australia Research Foundation, the Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation, the Yulgilbar Alzheimer’s Research Program, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, and the Charleston Conference for Alzheimer’s Disease. Participants in the study obtained about 41 percent of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, nearly matching the Australian national average of 42 percent.

The study found that even modest increases in ultra-processed food consumption were associated with measurable declines in attention and mental processing speed. Lead author Dr. Barbara Cardoso, from Monash University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food and the Victorian Heart Institute, said the results add to growing evidence linking highly processed foods to poorer brain health. “To put our findings in perspective, a 10 percent increase in UPFs is roughly equivalent to adding a standard packet of chips to your daily diet,” Dr. Cardoso said. “For every 10 percent increase in ultra-processed food a person consumed, we saw a distinct and measurable drop in a person’s ability to focus. In clinical terms, this translated to consistently lower scores on standardized cognitive tests measuring visual attention and processing speed.”

One of the study’s most notable findings was that the negative effects on attention appeared regardless of a person’s overall diet quality. Even participants who generally followed a healthy Mediterranean-style diet showed the same relationship between greater ultra-processed food intake and poorer focus. According to the researchers, this suggests that the level of processing itself may play an important role.

“Food ultra-processing often destroys the natural structure of food and introduces potentially harmful substances like artificial additives or processing chemicals,” Dr. Cardoso said. “These additives suggest the link between diet and cognitive function extends beyond just missing out on foods known as healthy, pointing to mechanisms linked to the degree of food processing itself.”

The researchers also found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increase in known dementia risk factors. These include conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure, both of which can be managed to help support long-term brain health. While the study did not identify a direct link between ultra-processed foods and memory loss, the researchers note that attention is a fundamental cognitive function. It plays a critical role in learning, problem-solving, and many other mental tasks. Because attention serves as the foundation for so many aspects of thinking, declines in focus may represent an important early warning sign of broader cognitive changes.

Fitness Flash

Travel: The New Fountain of Youth

New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) reinforces the idea that travel can be a surprisingly powerful anti-aging tool. Researchers found that positive travel experiences may help the body stay balanced and resilient. Activities like exploring new places, staying active, and connecting with others can boost immunity, metabolism, and stress recovery. However, stressful or unsafe travel could reverse these benefits.

In 2024, we reported on ECU’s interdisciplinary study published in the Journal of Travel Research, for which researchers applied the theory of entropy to tourism, proposing that positive travel experiences may support physical and mental health in ways that could help slow some signs of aging. The work does not suggest that travel can stop aging, but it frames tourism as more than a break from routine. It may be a way to help the body maintain balance, resilience, and repair.

Entropy is often described as the universe’s movement toward disorder. In the context of health, the researchers suggest that experiences can either support or disrupt the body’s ability to stay organized and functioning well. Positive travel experiences may help reduce that drift toward disorder, while stressful or unsafe travel may push the body in the opposite direction.

Since the 2024 study, related work has continued to explore travel therapy as a possible health and wellness approach. A 2025 research note by ECU PhD candidate Ms. Fangli Hu and colleagues described travel therapy as an emerging approach in which positive travel experiences may promote well-being, while also emphasizing the need to weigh benefits against risks.

Another 2025 paper called for closer collaboration between travel medicine and tourism, reflecting a growing interest in how vacations, health risks, preventive care, and traveler well-being overlap. A 2025 systematic review also found that tourism and healthy aging is becoming an important interdisciplinary research area but remains underexplored and in need of stronger methods and clearer future research directions.

T. J. Robinson and Juan Carlos Pérez, with olive harvest in Chile

Together, these newer findings support a careful interpretation: travel may offer real health-related benefits, especially when it includes movement, social connection, novelty, and restoration, but researchers are still working to understand how strong those effects are and who benefits most.

“Aging, as a process, is irreversible. While it can’t be stopped, it can be slowed down,” Ms. Hu said, explaining that travel may improve well-being by placing people in new environments, encouraging movement, increasing social interaction, and creating positive emotions. Those same ideas already appear in areas such as wellness tourism, health tourism, and yoga tourism.

“Tourism isn’t just about leisure and recreation. It could also contribute to people’s physical and mental health,” Ms. Hu added.

Viewed through an entropy lens, travel therapy could become a meaningful health intervention, Hu said. The idea is that positive travel experiences, as part of a person’s environment, may help the body maintain a healthier low-entropy state by influencing four major body systems.

Travel often combines unfamiliar surroundings with relaxing experiences. New settings can stimulate the body, raise metabolic activity, and help activate self-organizing processes that keep biological systems working smoothly. These experiences may also prompt the adaptive immune system, which helps the body recognize and respond to outside threats.

Ms. Hu said that this reaction improves the body’s ability to perceive and defend itself against external threats: “Put simply, the self-defense system becomes more resilient. Hormones conducive to tissue repair and regeneration may be released and promote the self-healing system’s functioning.”

Relaxing travel activities may also help reduce chronic stress and calm an overactive immune response. Recreation can ease tension and fatigue in the muscles and joints, supporting metabolic balance and strengthening the body’s ability to resist wear and tear.

This matters because travel is rarely just sitting still. Trips often include walking through cities, hiking trails, climbing, cycling, or simply spending more time on your feet than usual. That physical activity can increase metabolism, energy use, and nutrient movement throughout the body, all of which may support the systems that keep the body repaired and resilient.

“Participating in these activities could enhance the body’s immune function and self-defense capabilities, bolstering its hardiness to external risks. Physical exercise may also improve blood circulation, expedite nutrient transport, and aid waste elimination to collectively maintain an active self-healing system. Moderate exercise is beneficial to the bones, muscles, and joints in addition to supporting the body’s anti-wear-and-tear system,” Ms. Hu said.

The same research also cautions that travel is not automatically healthy. Tourists can face infectious diseases, accidents, injuries, violence, unsafe food or water, and other risks linked to poor planning or unsuitable travel choices. “Conversely, tourism can involve negative experiences that potentially lead to health problems, paralleling the process of promoting entropy increase. A prominent example is the public health crisis of COVID-19,” said Hu.

The central message is not that any trip will slow aging. Rather, positive travel experiences may help the body and mind function better by combining novelty, relaxation, physical activity, and social connection. When travel is safe, restorative, and active, it may do more than create memories. It could help support healthier aging from the inside out.

Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!

Churrascas

Posted on July 15, 2026July 15, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Churrascas are a great last-minute homemade bread because the dough needs just a short amount of rest after kneading. While this recipe calls for making them on the stovetop, you can also make them on your grill, cooking as many as will fit all at once. Do enjoy them right away, while they’re still soft and pillowy. Note: Don’t confuse churrasca the bread with churrasco the grilled meat that’s often stuffed into a sandwich—you will find a great recipe for that in the current Chilean Pressing Report.

Ingredients

4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup olive oil

3/4 cup warm tap water, to start

Directions

Step 1

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Combine the oil and 3/4 cup water in a measuring cup, whisk, and add to the bowl; stir to make a dough ball. If the dough is raggy, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead with the dough hook attachment for 5 minutes or by hand for 10 minutes until smooth.

Step 2

Turn out the dough and cut into 6 portions. Roll each one into a ball, then roll them out, one at a time, with a rolling pin, doing quarter-turns until about 5 inches in diameter and about 1/4-inch thick. Rest the dough for 30 minutes.

Step 3

Heat a griddle, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add two churrascas and cook for about 5 minutes, turn with tongs, and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat twice more with the rest of the rounds.

Yields 6 churrascas

EVOO to Go Summer 2026

Posted on July 7, 2026July 7, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

This Quarter’s Selection

Producer: Alonso, La Estrella, Chile
Olive Varieties: Coratina, Frantoio, Leccino
Flavor Profile: Bold

I always look forward to spending time with Juanjo Alonso, who oversees the family’s extraordinary olive farm, Agrícola Pobeña. He has the most engaging personality and an expansive love of life, family, and, of course, ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil. With four older brothers occupied by the family’s other businesses, Juanjo was tapped by his father, Abel, to help him start the farm. Juanjo was just a few years out of college in California and had recently returned to Chile to be with his family. He undertook the project because he understood how making olive oil connected Abel to his past.

Lunch with three generations of Alonsos: Juanjo, his mother Aintzane, and Juanjo’s eldest son, Fermin. Like her late husband, Aintzane is of Basque ancestry and irrepressibly proud of how Juanjo has transformed his father’s pipedream into Chile’s finest producer of ultra-premium EVOO. Young Fermin is a world-class snowboarder and surfer who balances his athletic training with shifts at the farm. Right: The main dish is Aintzane’s Basque specialty, merluza (hake) in salsa verde, showcasing Chilean seafood and our incredible Coratina blend.

Born and raised in Spain’s Basque country, at 17, Abel made his way to Chile, where he and his mother reconnected with Abel’s father, who had been imprisoned for years by the regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco before escaping and ultimately resettling in Chile. Young Abel found work in a shoe store and within months was managing the shop. The owners entrusted him to set up a factory in Buenos Aires, where he lived for three years. Back home in Chile, he struck out on his own, creating a thriving shoe business that, over the years, provided work for 600 families.

Through it all, Abel held fast to his love of his native country—later in life, he spent half of each year in Spain. As he neared retirement, he set out to realize his longtime dream of establishing an olive grove and mill that produced world-class olive oil, the elixir so deeply intertwined with Spanish culture. His son Juanjo was determined to make that happen. That’s not to say things always went smoothly.

“My father was a tough, old-school guy. I’m pretty laid back, so being his son wasn’t always easy. There was tension between us at times,” Juanjo reflects, in a rare quiet moment. It’s been a year and a half since Abel’s death, just a few months shy of his 89th birthday. “It’s amazing what happened to me since then. When I’m here, I feel him asking me to be more like him. It’s like he’s giving me the energy and the voice I need.”

Juanjo briefs me on the route up to one of the Coratina plots so I can check if the fruit is ready for harvest. On a bike (e-bike, to be clear), or on foot, you experience so much more in the groves, at a slower pace, up close and personal. It’s essential to keep close tabs on the olives’ progress, as individual plots mature at different times.

I’m thrilled that Juanjo’s 19-year-old son Fermin has been working in the mill during this harvest. A top-ranked freeride snowboarder, Fermin flirted with the opportunity of training for the 2030 Winter Olympics, where the sport is likely to debut. But the grueling schedule would have taken him away from his family and his love of surfing, which he shares with his dad, so he turned it down. I’m looking forward to working with the next Alonso generation one day.

We pay homage to Abel with this very special bold olive oil. He would have been ecstatic about this magnificent farm blend I’ve created for you. It’s centered around Coratina—a cultivar so exceptional the Pobeña team calls it “The Queen”—from three different areas on the farm. The supporting players are Frantoio and Leccino, which are typically planted in side-by-side rows in the field. I love that this oil is the embodiment of three classic Italian varietals, Coratina from Puglia and Frantoio and Leccino from Tuscany. I know you’ll agree we’ve captured magic in a bottle.

Impressions and Recommended Food Pairings

This robust Italian-style blend resonates with Southern Hemisphere energy. Its aromas reveal green and sweet almond, green apple, and dark leafy greens like arugula, with notes of artichoke, thyme, sage, and black pepper, rounded by citrus zest and warm hints of cinnamon and vanilla. On the palate are the nuttiness of hazelnuts; mint and oregano; the vegetal character of escarole and celery; and abundant polyphenols, as represented by the astringency of green tea, bitterness of cocoa nibs, spiciness of green chile, and the tingling sensation of Sichuan peppercorns.

Its bold personality is perfect for lamb-stuffed eggplant, chacarero Chileno and other beef dishes, duck, wild game, tuna and swordfish; deconstructed palta reina and salads with dark leafy greens; bold vinaigrettes; crudités; tomato-based recipes; hearty pasta dishes; cured meats; aged cheeses; crusty breads; wild rice and legumes; and chocolate desserts.

To order EVOO to Go packets, click here

Olive Oil Hunter News #272

Posted on July 3, 2026July 8, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Glorious Greens Salad Recipe, Spotlight on Summer Lettuce, Cleaning Greens, Olive Oil Helps Fight Diabetes, plus Exercise Needs and GLP-1s

“Mixed salad” takes on new meaning—and elevated taste—when you choose a bright selection of summer lettuces and add one of my favorite vinaigrettes. It’s perfect when you want a light dish on a warm day. As you’ll see from the first study I’m including, more than its delicious taste, extra virgin olive oil could help keep diabetes at bay. The second piece of research is a reminder of the importance of exercise to maintain muscle mass when on a GLP-1 medication.

Glorious Greens Salad

Glorious Greens Salad
The variety of lettuces is what makes this salad so special. It features a vinaigrette that combines the sweetness of balsamic with the tartness of red wine vinegar. Remember that true balsamic vinegar must come from Modena, Italy. Turn this salad into a meal by adding cold shrimp or grilled chicken.
Ingredients

For the vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar from Modena
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the salad:
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 small head romaine
- 1 large Belgian endive
- 1 bunch watercress or arugula
- 1 small head radicchio
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions

Step 1

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the two vinegars, mustard, honey, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and garlic. Gradually whisk in the olive oil until the dressing is emulsified. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt; set aside.

Step 2

Trim the various lettuces and greens and discard any tough or marred outer leaves. Carefully wash and dry the remaining leaves (see Quick Kitchen Nugget in newsletter).

Step 3

Leave small lettuce leaves whole, but cut the romaine, endive, radicchio, and any large leaves into wide ribbons. Toss all together in a large bowl. To assemble each dish, mound a handful on each of 6 large plates, drizzle with vinaigrette, then top each with a second handful and more vinaigrette. Sprinkle with equal amounts of the grated cheese and some fresh pepper.
Yields 6 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Summer Lettuce

Whether you’re growing lettuce in your garden or shopping farmers’ markets, certain lettuces stand out as summer varieties. They’re heat-tolerant, resist bolting or going to seed, and won’t turn bitter. They include numerous types of summercrisp, which are sweet yet crunchy; oakleaf, with red or green leaves; romaine, both small and large heads; and butterhead, such as tender Boston and Bibb.

Though the calories in lettuce varieties are negligible, these leafy greens have many vitamins and minerals, notably vitamin A and potassium. With the exception of iceberg, various lettuces offer moderate amounts of vitamin C, calcium, iron, and copper. Know that the darker the leaf color, the greater the nutrients. The spines and ribs are good sources of fiber, so keep them. While you can rinse leaves in advance and keep them wrapped in paper towels, cut them just prior to eating to avoid discoloration.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Cleaning Greens

Rather than rinsing lettuce leaves under a stream of water, try the float method to clean your greens. Plunge them into a very large bowl filled with cool water (do this in batches if necessary). Use one hand to slosh them around, then leave for 5 minutes. Any dirt will settle to the bottom of the bowl. Take out the leaves in handfuls, shaking them and transferring to paper towels; blot dry.

For Your Best Health

Olive Oil Helps Fight Diabetes

Not all fats affect your body the same way. Researchers from the CIBER Area for Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Diseases (CIBERDEM) at the University of Barcelona in Spain took a close look at the contrasting effects of two major fatty acids found in the diet, palmitic acid and oleic acid. The goal was to learn how each might influence the risk of type 2 diabetes, a disease that affects millions of people worldwide and is linked to serious health complications and premature death.

They found that palmitic acid, a saturated fat common in many foods, may contribute to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes by triggering inflammation, toxic fat buildup, and cellular stress. In contrast, oleic acid—the heart-healthy monounsaturated fat abundant in olive oil—appears to help protect insulin function and may even counter some of the harmful effects of palmitic acid. The study was published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism.

“Palmitic acid is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity, whereas oleic acid, abundant in olive oil, may have a protective effect against these metabolic disorders,” said Professor Manuel Vázquez-Carrera, PhD, from the UB’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, the UB Institute of Biomedicine (IBUB), the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD) and CIBERDEM. “This review highlights the significant role of the quality of dietary fat, rather than the total amount consumed,” he noted.

The researchers examined evidence showing that palmitic acid can trigger several biological processes linked to metabolic disease. As Xavier Palomer, PhD, the article’s first author, said, “At the molecular level, palmitic acid promotes the accumulation of potentially toxic bioactive lipids, fosters low-grade chronic inflammation, and contributes to the dysfunction of cellular organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria.” The team explained that these cellular changes “are closely linked to impaired insulin action and the progression of metabolic disease.”

The picture looks quite different for oleic acid. According to the review, oleic acid encourages the body to store fats in forms that are metabolically less disruptive and have little effect on normal cellular function. It also helps maintain healthy insulin signaling in important metabolic tissues, including the liver, muscles, and adipose tissue. Researchers said oleic acid may also offset many of the harmful effects associated with palmitic acid. This could help explain why eating patterns rich in monounsaturated fats, including the Mediterranean diet, are consistently linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

The authors emphasized that more targeted research is needed to better understand differences seen across population studies. “It is important to consider variables such as the source of fatty acids, their dietary context, interactions with other nutrients, and different food processing methods,” said Dr. Vázquez-Carrera. Gaining a clearer understanding of these factors will improve scientists’ ability to evaluate how different fats affect metabolic health. In turn, that knowledge could support the development of more effective dietary approaches for preventing and managing type 2 diabetes.

Fitness Flash

Exercise Needs and GLP-1s

According to research presented at the Endocrine Society’s 2026 annual meeting, people taking these popular weight-loss drugs may be losing pounds, but they could also be moving less. Researchers analyzing Fitbit data found that daily step counts and exercise levels dropped after people started these medications, despite successful weight loss. Because the drugs can reduce muscle mass along with fat, the decline in physical activity raises concerns about preserving strength and long-term health.

The finding may come as a surprise because many people assume that shedding excess weight naturally makes it easier to move more. However, researchers found the opposite trend among people taking medications including semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy), tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound), liraglutide, and dulaglutide.

While these drugs can be highly effective for weight loss, they reduce more than just body fat. They can also contribute to a loss of lean muscle mass, making physical activity especially important for maintaining strength and overall health. Protecting muscle is a key part of healthy weight loss, explained study leader Sajana Maharjan, MD, of HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois.

To investigate how activity levels changed after starting treatment, researchers analyzed data from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, which combines electronic health records with Fitbit activity data. The study began with 1,950 adults with obesity who started a GLP-1 medication. Of those, 753 participants had enough wearable-device data to be included in the final analysis. Most were women (78.6%), and the average age was 52.7 years.

Researchers compared physical activity before and after participants began taking the medications. They focused on daily step counts and minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The results showed a clear decline in movement after treatment began. Average daily step counts fell from 5,047 to 4,487 steps per day. Time spent in MVPA also dropped, decreasing from 28 minutes to 22 minutes per day. The largest decreases were seen in men and in people who reported joint or muscle pain. Factors such as age, heart failure, and a previous stroke did not alter the findings. Importantly, the researchers found no evidence that losing weight with these medications led people to become more physically active.

“The findings reinforce that exercise cannot be optional for people taking these medications. People need targeted interventions that encourage physical activity alongside medication for obesity,” Dr. Maharjan said.

Get More Recipes In Your Inbox!