New research from the University of California, Riverside is offering deeper insight into why diets high in soybean oil — the most widely used cooking oil in the United States — may contribute to obesity. In controlled experiments, most mice fed a high-fat diet enriched with soybean oil gained significant weight. However, a genetically modified group did not, despite consuming the same diet.
The difference came down to a liver protein called HNF4α, which regulates hundreds of genes involved in fat metabolism. The modified mice produced an alternative form of this protein, affecting how their bodies processed linoleic acid, a major component of soybean oil. This suggests that metabolic responses to soybean oil may depend heavily on which version of HNF4α is active — a factor that could help explain why some individuals gain weight more readily than others on similar diets.
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