Obesity now outnumbers every other cardiometabolic trial category

Among cardiovascular and metabolic studies registered with a start date since 1 July 2026, obesity is the single largest category — and not narrowly:

• Obesity: 478
• Hypertension: 335
• Type 2 diabetes: 287
• Heart failure: 235
• Atrial fibrillation: 128
• Cholesterol / lipids: 42

Obesity at 478 studies runs ahead of hypertension (335) and roughly double heart failure (235), despite heart failure being the condition the field has organised itself around for decades.

What this does and does not show

It shows where new studies are being registered. It does not show where the money is, where the patients are, or where the need is greatest. A single heart failure outcomes trial can enrol more participants than a hundred small metabolic studies.

What it does suggest is that obesity has become a field in which a great many groups now believe there is something worth testing — which was not true of this category ten years ago.

Run it yourself: the obesity search.

Counts taken from the ClinicalTrials.gov API on 7 October 2026, covering studies with a registered start date on or after 1 July 2026. Registry numbers move as records are added and updated, so treat them as a snapshot rather than a fixed figure.