A study published in Obesity on 2026-08-31 found that nearly 30% of adults with an elevated BMI in the U.S. did not receive an obesity diagnosis from a healthcare professional. ^[1] More than 97% of adults with a high BMI in Japan did not receive a diagnosis for obesity, according to findings from the CALOR study. ^[2] Endocrinologist Dr. Vaishali Deshmukh of Deshmukh Clinic in Pune states that persistent, unwanted thoughts about food are termed 'food noise' and are distinct from ordinary physical hunger. ^[3] Adults diagnosed with obesity had a higher prevalence of obesity-related conditions compared to those who were undiagnosed, including dyslipidemia, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. ^[4] Dr. Deshmukh warns that food noise is an emerging scientific construct and should not be treated as a formal diagnosis or assumed to occur in everyone with obesity. ^[5] The 2025 Food Noise Questionnaire, published in Obesity, was developed to measure persistent food-related thoughts that can interfere with daily life and make healthy behaviors harder to follow. ^[6] A meta-analysis in Obesity Reviews found that stronger reactivity to food cues, such as ads or photos of food, and craving predicted greater eating and weight-related outcomes. ^[7]