Many people with obesity experience constant thoughts about food even when they are not hungry. New weight-loss medications, such as GLP-1 agonists, often reduce this ""food noise"", but we do not yet understand why some people experience this more than others, and whether it has an effect on treatment success.

This project aims to understand how the brain processes food cues in hunger and satiety and how these fluctuations are affected by weight-loss medication. The study focuses on smell, which plays a key role in how food attracts our attention and motivates eating. Adults with obesity, as well as people without obesity, will take part in behavioral tests, blood sampling, and brain imaging sessions. A group starting weight-loss medication will be followed over time.

By identifying brain and behavioral patterns linked to food preoccupation and treatment response, the project aims to improve understanding of overeating and support more personalized and effective obesity treatments.