Obesity is a global epidemic and is a multifactorial disease associated with an increased risk of serious conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and certain cancers. It arises from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. Gaining a deeper understanding of how energy balance is regulated under health and disease is essential for developing better therapeutics for obesity, diabetes and their comorbidities. While much research has focused on how sugar and fat disrupt energy homeostasis, the role of dietary salt, a common yet often overlooked dietary factor, remains poorly understood. In this talk, I will present our recent findings on how high salt intake modulates energy balance, with a particular focus on the critical involvement of the hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) system.