Professor Giles Yeo MBE has spent 30 years studying one of the most misunderstood questions in health: why some people feel hungrier, gain weight more easily and find it much harder to keep weight off than others.
He is Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, where his research focuses on how our genes, hormones and brain control appetite and body weight. In 2026, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences for his internationally recognised work on the genetics and neuroscience of obesity.
And one of his central messages challenges the way many of us think about weight.
Two people can be faced with exactly the same food, but experience very different levels of hunger, fullness and reward. Your biology does not remove personal responsibility, but it can dramatically change how difficult the same decision feels.
In this episode, you will learn:
• Why your brain actively fights weight loss, increasing hunger and changing your metabolism when you lose weight
• Why two people can eat the same food but experience completely different levels of appetite and food noise
• What calories fail to tell you about food, and why protein, fibre and ultra-processed foods affect your body differently
• How Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs actually work, why weight often returns after stopping them, and the risks people need to understand
• Giles's simple 16:30:5 framework for eating enough protein and fibre to lose weight while reducing free sugar without obsessing over individual meals
Giles also speaks personally about his son's experience with obesity and GLP-1 medication, and admits that even after spending his career studying obesity, he still had to fight the human instinct to blame.
Follow Prof Giles Yeo:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/giles-yeo-2062969
https://www.instagram.com/gilesyeo/
https://www.facebook.com/giles.yeo/
#ThrivingMinds #AlbertoZandi #GilesYeo #Neuroscience #AppetiteScience #BrainHealth #WeightLoss #HungerHormones #NutritionScience #ObesityResearch #HealthPodcast #MetabolicHealth #FoodScience
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