Scientists at University of California, Riverside found that soybean oil contributes to obesity in a study involving mice.

The oil creates specific fat-derived molecules—oxylipins—that alter liver metabolism and increase fat accumulation, the study, which was published in the Journal of Lipid Research last month, concluded.

Researchers observed that mice fed a high-fat diet rich in soybean oil, the most widely consumed cooking oil in the United States, gained significant weight.

“Soybean oil isn’t inherently evil. But the quantities in which we consume it is triggering pathways our bodies didn’t evolve to handle," study author Sonia Deol said in a press release issued by UC Riverside.

Why It Matters

The latest research offers new insights into why soybean oil may be obesogenic—a

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