Archive for March, 2013

NY Supreme Court Blocks Bloomberg’s Limits on Sugary Drinks

March 12, 2013 — Just  hours before implementation, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled against a ban on large sugary drink in New York City. The decision by Justice Milton A. Tingling Jr. blocks the city from putting the rules into effect or enforcing them. The rules limited some food establishments from selling sugary drinks in portions larger […]

Weight Bias Drives Perceptions of Guilt in Court

March 11, 2013 — A new study, published in International Journal of Obesity, suggests weight bias can play a role in trial outcomes. In the study, conducted by researchers at the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, 471 people with normal or excess weight read a vignette concerning check fraud and were shown one of four pictures […]

Better Mental Health in Active Bariatric Surgery Patients

March 10, 2013 — New data from the LABS (Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery) study shows that with just modest physical activity, bariatric surgery patients had less anxiety or depression. Wendy King, the lead investigator from the University of Pittsburgh, commented on the implications of this and other research: Typically, clinical professionals manage their patients’ depression and anxiety with […]

Drug Prices Up as Health Spending Slows Down

March 9, 2013 — Drug prices are going up again at a time when overall health spending is slowing down. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that prescription drug costs rose 3.6% in 2012, more than double the 1.7% inflation rate. This news comes at the same time that slowing growth in healthcare spending overall led the Congressional […]

Reality Check: No Cure for Obesity

March 8, 2013 — H.L. Mencken’s assessment is best: “For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Yoni Freedhoff, a prolific writer,  advocate, and obesity doctor, elaborated on this theme recently in U.S. News and World Report. “Despite what you may see in breathless advertisements, or read from the latest diet book guru, or hear […]

Slim-Fast No Longer Resonates With Many

March 7, 2013 — In a world where consumers are beginning to think more in terms of wellness than dieting, is former megabrand Slim-Fast® a dinosaur? Based on the brand’s sales numbers, which have plummeted 40% over the last four years to $196 million, the answer might be yes. So why have consumers left in droves, even after Slim-Fast’s […]

Low Obesity Rates in Foodservice Workers

March 6, 2013 — If any work environment promotes obesity, you might think it would be foodservice and hospitality.  Not so. Abraham Pizam, dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida, took a close look at the obesity rates for foodservice workers and found they were surprisingly low. His perspective is published in the […]

One Million DTC Ads That May Discourage Diet and Exercise

March 5, 2013 — More than a million direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads for cholesterol-lowering drugs could have an unintended effect: persuading people that a healthy lifestyle doesn’t help. A new study from researchers at Cornell University analyzed the content of DTC ads for cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs from 1994 to 2007 and found that 80% of the advertising suggests that diet […]

Goldilocks Exercise: Just Enough Is Best

March 4, 2013 — So much of the imagery we see about exercise and fitness is daunting, because it suggests you can’t get enough. A new study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham paints a very different picture. Investigators found that a more moderate approach was actually more beneficial than working out almost daily. Sedentary women, ages 60 […]

College Students Switch from Soda to Coffee

March 3, 2013 — Be careful what you wish for. While critics of the sugary drink industry are hoping Americans will give up soda, new survey date from the NPD Group, which tracks what Americans eat and drink, shows that one group seems to already be making the switch: 18-24 year olds, who seem to prefer coffee over soda. […]