Obesity research in specialty journals from 2000 to 2023: A bibliometric analysis

Background Obesity literature has expanded considerably in recent decades, but there is no bibliometric study of research published exclusively in specialty journals. Thus, this study was aimed to perform a series of bibliometric analyses of articles from specialty journals focused on obesity from 2000 to 2023. Methods Fifteen specialty journals were selected from the SCImago Journal Rank database. Documents published in these journals between 2000 and 2023 were extracted from Dimensions database. Bibliometric analyses, network analyses, and topic modeling were performed using Python. The analyses were made by dividing the dataset in three eight-year periods: 2000 to 2007, 2008 to 2015, and 2016 to 2023. Metrics such as the h-index, g-index, and m-index were calculated. The identification of authors’ gender was established using a Large Language Model (LLM). Author collaboration networks and concepts co-occurrence networks were computed and visualized. Topic modeling, based on Non-Negative Matrix Factorization (NMF or NNMF), was performed. Results A total of 30 061 documents were analyzed. The journals Obesity Surgery, Obesity, and the International Journal of Obesity, were identified as the leading journals. Despite a decline in publication growth due to COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, overall research production showed a steady increase. There were more men than women authors but this gap was narrower in recent years. Claude Bouchard emerged as the most prolific author in the first period, Luis A. Moreno in the second, Kamal K. Mahawar in the third, and Rena R. Wing in the whole period. Topic modeling revealed a shift from weight loss-focused articles to broader approaches to obesity. Conclusion This study highlights the dynamic growth and key trends in obesity research within specialty journals. It also underscores the importance of leading journals and authors in advancing the field and provides a comprehensive overview of collaborative networks and emerging research topics.