The Impact of Dietary Fat and Sugar Profiles on Metabolic Outcomes

Metabolic health research has increasingly highlighted that calorie content alone fails to capture the full impact of diet on health. Instead, evidence shows that the types of dietary fats, sugar sources, and glycemic characteristics critically shape metabolic outcomes, influencing the risk of conditions like fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia, and cardiometabolic disorders. Emerging studies point to complex interactions between diet quality, the gut and oral microbiome, and immunometabolic pathways, yet there remain significant gaps in understanding exactly how these factors drive metabolic dysfunction independent of calorie intake or body weight.This Research Topic aims to clarify how specific attributes of dietary fat and sugar—beyond total calorie count—contribute to metabolic risk and resilience. We seek to uncover mechanistic and translational insights that link food composition to changes in the microbiome, microbial metabolites, immune-metabolic signaling, and the development or prevention of metabolic diseases. The overarching goal is to better define actionable dietary targets and biomarkers, and to inform more precise, culturally sensitive nutrition strategies.This Research Topic is limited to the connections between dietary composition and metabolic health outcomes, independent of calorie quantity. We invite articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Fat quality (saturated vs. unsaturated) and isocaloric high-fat interventions• Sugar sources, glycemic index/load, and post-meal responses• Diet-induced risk or prevention of MASLD/MASH, dyslipidemia, and glycemic dysfunction• Microbiome diversity and function in response to diet• Microbial metabolites (TMA/TMAO, osmolytes) as disease mediators• Immune-metabolic pathways linking diet to tissue dysfunction or repair• Intervention studies and translational research• Biomarker and analytic method development• Food-based strategies, including reformulation and culturally relevant dietary approaches Topic editors: Mateusz Szudzik, Fátima Martel Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76919/the-impact-of-dietary-fat-and-sugar-profiles-on-metabolic-outcomes