Health
Weight loss may be helped by drinking this, study suggests

Water is known to be a great resource for good health — but sparkling water could also offer unique benefits.
A new report published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health suggests that carbonated water may support weight loss by enhancing glucose uptake and metabolism in red blood cells.
The researchers aimed to analyze the physiological effects of carbonated water, as it has been found to induce satiety (feelings of fullness) and gastric motility (movement of food through the body), both of which could reduce hunger.
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In analyzing a study from 2004, the team found that carbonated water may support weight loss by converting to HCO3 – a byproduct of metabolism – in red blood cells and increasing energy production.
But the effect of this is “so small,” the researchers concluded, that it is “difficult to expect weight loss effects solely from the CO2 in carbonated water.”
Carbonated water that is high in sodium has also been shown to lower blood glucose levels, the report noted. (iStock)
So the researchers noted that sparkling water should not be used on its own as a weight-loss solution — and should instead be “integrated into a broader strategy of healthy living.”
‘Extremely challenging’
Study researcher Dr. Akira Takahashi, head of medicine at Tesseikai Neurosurgical Hospital in Osaka, Japan, conducted the original research 20 years ago.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Takahashi said this new report underscores how carbonated water impacts weight loss by promoting the sensation of fullness, which can reduce food intake and lower overall calorie consumption.
Carbonated water burning calories through CO2 absorption is “insufficient to make a significant difference,” the researcher noted.
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“For instance, during hemodialysis, even with a continuous supply of CO₂ for four hours, only about 9.5g of glucose is consumed,” he said.
“It would be extremely challenging to drink carbonated water continuously for that duration.”
(Hemodialysis is a treatment that filters waste and water from the blood for people whose kidneys are not functioning correctly.)

“Further research is necessary to better understand [sparkling water’s] long-term effects and optimize its role in dietary interventions,” the report said. (iStock)
“Therefore, I believe it is unlikely that carbonated water alone could lead to weight loss,” Takahashi said.
Further research is needed to fully understand the effect of carbonation on weight loss due to fullness, according to the researcher.
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“The sensation of fullness when drinking carbonated beverages is thought to result from their physical properties,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Carbon dioxide released from the bubbles fills the stomach, stimulating stretch receptors. These receptors then signal the brain via the vagus nerve, creating a sensation of fullness.”
“Water in general is great for you, but if interested in losing weight, there is more to it.”
Carbonated water should be incorporated into a “broader strategy” of healthy living, according to experts.
“Water in general is great for you, but if interested in losing weight, there is more to it,” Dr. Kathleen Jordan, chief medical officer and weight management specialist for MediHealth in California, told Fox News Digital. (Jordan was not part of the research.)
Dietary choices and activity levels are more likely to be impactful, the expert said, and medications can be “hugely helpful” for those who struggle to manage their weight.

Experts agree that weight loss involves many different factors beyond drinking one type of water. (iStock)
New York-based certified holistic nutritionist Robin DeCicco agreed that more data is needed on what individuals should pair with soda water for weight management.
“As the study points out, there is no one general way to lose weight across the board,” DeCicco, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
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Weight loss can occur when people engage in increased physical activity, decrease their caloric intake and eat a healthier selection of foods, which includes minimizing ultraprocessed, fried and sugary foods, the nutritionist said.
Carbonated consequences
While bubbles in carbonated water can create a full feeling, there are also consequences of overindulging, according to DeCicco.
“I can see how drinking carbonated water can make people less hungry because the bubbles do create a feeling of more fullness,” she said.
“With that being said, people may skip a snack if they’re drinking seltzer, thus reducing caloric intake for the day.”
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On the other hand, DeCicco cautioned, carbonated beverages can make individuals feel bloated and gassy, and can aggravate reflux issues.
“Therefore, it’s not a suggestion of mine to recommend bubbly drinks for anyone with chronic bloating, acid reflux, hiatal hernia, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or other stomach sensitivities.”

The researchers emphasized that carbonated water consumption “should be integrated into a broader strategy of healthy living rather than relied upon as a primary weight-loss tool.” (iStock)
DeCicco highlighted that the new study only refers to seltzer water and does not include sweetened beverages such as sodas or artificially flavored seltzers, which may be “linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and increased sugar cravings.”
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She added, “People want an easy ‘1-2-3 fix’ for weight loss — and I know it’s not the popular statement to make, but long-term weight loss doesn’t stem from doing one thing (like drinking seltzer).”
Health
Trump Administration Sends Politically Charged Survey to Researchers

The Trump administration has asked researchers and organizations whose work is conducted overseas to disclose ties to those regarded as hostile, including “entities associated with communist, socialist or totalitarian parties,” according to a questionnaire obtained by The New York Times.
The online survey was sent this week to groups working abroad to research diseases like H.I.V., gather surveillance data and strengthen public health systems. Recipients received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Agency for International Development and other federal sources.
The questionnaire appears to be very similar to one sent earlier this week to partners of the United States Agency for International Development, which has been all but dismantled by the Trump administration. Both were titled “Foreign Assistance Review.”
Recipients were instructed to respond within 48 hours. Some grantees interviewed by The Times feared that impolitic or unsatisfactory answers could lead to cancellation of funding.
“Taxpayer dollars must not fund dependency, socialism, corrupt regimes that oppose free enterprise, or intervene in internal matters of another sovereign nation,” the questionnaire said.
“A truly prosperous America prioritizes domestic growth, innovation, and economic strength over foreign handouts,” it added.
A spokesman for the White House did not return a request for comment about the survey.
The form asks a series of questions that touch on collaborators, including whether grant recipients work with drug cartels or “groups that promote mass migration.”
It asks about the impact of programs, such as whether they have an effect on “promoting religious freedom and combating Christian persecution” in other nations.
It asks grant recipients if they or their organizations collaborate with or have received funding from Russia, Cuba, Iran or China — including the Confucius Institute, which works with China’s Ministry of Education to promote language and cultural exchanges with American students.
Some federal officials who oversee grants said they were particularly dismayed by a question asking grantees to disavow associations with communist entities. The United States assists with health work in a number of communist countries, including Vietnam.
“Some of my grantees are literally the public health government structures in a communist country,” said one federal official, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution. “This is painful.”
Awards and contracts to aid groups have been under review during a 90-day pause on foreign aid, but in some instances they have been canceled and restored over the past few weeks. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the federal government to resume the payments.
Various versions of the questionnaires were sent out starting Wednesday, and the deadlines appear to range from midnight on Friday to 5 p.m. Monday. But the process has been riddled with confusion.
Some grantees appear to have been given extensions, while others were denied. Some noted that the deadline seemed to shift as more copies of the questionnaire were received each day.
The recipients included scientists at large universities and research programs in the United States, as well as tiny organizations abroad. Some questionnaires were apparently sent in error; one was received by Maine’s health department.
A principal investigator with two C.D.C. grants for domestic research projects received the email Thursday evening, only to receive another Friday morning telling him to ignore the previous missive.
The answers are meant to be filled out by a single person in one sitting, with no way to save responses for a break. The form estimates the task to take 30 minutes, including the time required for gathering the necessary data and documents.
“The chaotic way in which these stop work orders, terminations, waivers, reinstated awards, surveys — all with rapid deadlines and minimal communication — have been sent is distracting and incredibly disruptive,” said one scientist, who spoke anonymously for fear of losing funding.
Some American grantees have turned to lawyers for advice about how to phrase the responses.
Organizations that are based overseas are most at a disadvantage. The communications pause the Trump administration imposed several weeks ago still prevents them from talking to federal officials who might be able to assist, according to one C.D.C. official.
Grantees are allowed only to talk to American officials in the countries where they are based.
“They could lose the vital funds they need to do their work if they don’t answer these questions appropriately,” said a federal official, who spoke anonymously for fear of retribution.
Health
International effort seeks new treatments for pediatric heart disease

Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute is helping scientists use stem cell medicine and artificial intelligence to develop precision therapies for pediatric heart disease, the leading cause of death and disability in children.
Around 260,000 children die from heart disease around the world each year. In the U.S., a child is born with a heart defect every 15 minutes.
“We’re really interested in understanding how kids develop heart disease and where we can interfere to stop it progressing,” Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) Heart Disease Group Leader David Elliott said.
Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, the mother of Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, helped found Australia’s MCRI. The institute is partnering with Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco for the Decoding Broken Hearts Program.
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Amelia and Elijah Mallinson are two kids who could benefit from this research. The siblings live in Melbourne and have the same genetic heart condition.
“We took her to our local emergency because she woke up, she was swollen,” Amelia and Elijah’s mother, Ebony Mallison, said. “We thought she was just sleepy, but turns out she was in and out of consciousness.”
Amelia was two years old when doctors discovered her condition.
Ebony Mallison, center, sits with her two children, Amelia and Elijah, who are living with the same genetic heart condition. Both of their cases are enrolled in the Decoding Broken Hearts program. (Fox News)
“After they’d done a chest X-ray, they realized that her heart was a lot larger than it should have been, and they realized she was in heart failure,” Mallison said.
Amelia waited almost a year for a heart transplant. After successful treatment, she lives a mostly normal life. Her brother Elijah’s condition was discovered during a precautionary checkup.
“It was quite a shock because we weren’t aware of anything that would cause him to also have a heart condition. It was very much a let’s get him checked just to completely rule out that there’s nothing wrong,” Mallison said. “I feel like that was kind of more scary because we could anticipate the bad. But he’s been really stable and really healthy so far, hasn’t really needed any treatment or therapies yet, which is great.”
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Elliott said the goal is to find diagnoses and treatments before kids like Elijah ever need a transplant.

Heart Disease Group Leader David Elliott at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute examines an image of a heart on his monitor. (Fox News)
“For many, the disease would be absolutely critical if you could correct the problem in-utero,” said Elliott. “Those who have very severe heart disease will need three surgeries before they’re five. And it’s very draining for the families involved. And so, what we really like to do is really progress that and allow those children a much more effective life.”
MCRI is part of the Royal Children’s Hospital, which treats around 700 heart conditions each year. Every case is enrolled in the Decoding Broken Hearts program.
“We can use a special technology called reprogramming. So we take a small sample of this child’s blood,” Elliott said. “From that, we can create a heart cell. And in that heart cell is an exact replica up here in the laboratory of the child’s heart cell.”
Researchers then create additional small heart replicas to alter the function and find possible treatments for the patients at Royal Children’s.

Scientists use patients’ blood samples to create small heart replicas to study, aided by artificial intelligence. (Fox News)
“We’re trying to use all of those different tools and technologies to understand how the disease develops and where we can look for new therapies using precision medicine to help kids with heart disease,” Elliott said.
One of the newest tools with the help of Gladstone Institutes is artificial intelligence.
“Gladstone brings the expertise and the computational know-how that’s built up around the Bay area to use AI to study the disease,” Elliott said. “What AI allows us to do is millions and millions of experiments in the computer before we bring them into the cell, and that really allows us to target in and look at the ideal spot to interfere, to help cure disease.”
Amelia and Elijah have also participated in studies to further advance treatments for conditions like theirs.
“If it even helps one family, it’s worth it,” Mallinson said. “Every staff member that you come in contact with at the hospital and doing research, they all make a huge difference in the lives of the kids and everyone in the families of these kids.”
If you would like to donate or learn more about the Decoding Broken Hearts Program you can visit go.fox/MCRI.
Health
As Measles Continues to Spread in Texas, Cases Jump in New Mexico

A raging measles outbreak in West Texas, which has so far killed one child, has not abated and may have taken root in New Mexico, state health officials reported on Friday.
The outbreak has sickened nearly 200 people — roughly 40 more cases than were reported on Tuesday — and has left 23 hospitalized in West Texas. Local health officials say even that number may be an undercount.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, has faced criticism for his handling of the worsening outbreak. A prominent vaccine skeptic, Mr. Kennedy has offered muted support for vaccination and has emphasized untested treatments for measles, like cod liver oil.
The outbreak has largely spread within a community of Mennonites in Gaines County, Texas, who historically have had lower vaccination rates and often avoid interacting with the health care system.
Last year, roughly 82 percent of the county’s kindergarten population had received the measles vaccine. Experts say that vaccination rates must reach at least 95 percent to stave off outbreaks in a community.
In a news release on Friday, Texas health officials wrote that more cases are “likely to occur,” because of the contagiousness of the virus.
Health officials in Lea County, N.M. — which borders Gaines County — reported 30 measles cases on Friday, a substantial jump from the nine cases reported on Tuesday.
While the cases in New Mexico have not officially been connected to the Texas outbreak, officials have said a link is “suspected.”
On Thursday, state officials said an unvaccinated person who died in Lea County tested positive for the virus, though they have not yet confirmed that measles was the cause of death.
Most of these cases along the New Mexico-Texas border have involved someone unvaccinated or with unknown vaccine status. Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine prevent more than 97 percent of measles infections.
Just 93 percent of kindergarten students nationwide had received the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella in the 2023-24 school year, down from 95 percent before the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While symptoms typically resolve in a few weeks, measles can be extremely dangerous in rare cases. It may cause pneumonia, making it difficult for patients, especially children, to get oxygen into their lungs.
The infection can also lead to brain swelling, which can cause lasting damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die, according to the C.D.C.
The virus also causes “immune amnesia,” making the body unable to defend itself against illnesses it has already been exposed to and leaving patients more susceptible to future infections.
A 2015 study found that before the M.M.R. vaccine was widely available, measles might have been responsible for up to half of all infectious disease deaths in children.
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