Dietary Contaminants and Their Role in Obesity-Related Metabolic Disorders: From Mechanisms to Prevention
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Epidemiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: neurophysiology; cognitive decline; oxidative stress; obesity; fatty liver
Interests: oxidative stress; biomarkers; pollutants; microplastics; antioxidants; inflammation; Mediterranean Sea
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Obesity and its associated metabolic disorders represent a growing global health crisis with multifactorial origins that extend beyond simple caloric imbalance and poor dietary patterns. Recent evidence implicates contaminants ingested through food—both well established and emerging—as critical modulators of metabolic homeostasis, contributing to insulin resistance, adipose tissue dysfunction, inflammation, and dyslipidemia. This Special Issue of Nutrients will bridge fundamental mechanistic insights and translational prevention strategies by exploring how dietary exposure to persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, mycotoxins, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, microplastics, and other unregulated foodborne toxins contributes to obesity-related pathologies.
We welcome submissions—original research, reviews, and perspectives—that elucidate how contaminants consumed through food disrupt metabolic and cognitive functions, as well as approaches to their detection, dietary exposure assessment, and mitigation. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, mechanistic insights into toxin-induced neuroendocrine and metabolic dysregulation; population-based and exposome studies linking dietary exposures with obesity and cognitive outcomes; advanced analytical methods and regulatory frameworks; and interdisciplinary prevention strategies spanning nutrition, behavior, and policy aimed at reducing toxic dietary burdens and safeguarding both metabolic and brain health.
Dr. Manuel Jiménez-García
Dr. Antoni Sureda
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- dietary contaminants
- obesity
- metabolic disorders
- endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- neurocognitive effects
- exposome analysis
- risk assessment
- emerging pollutants
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