March 13, 2014 — “Skinny fat” is the latest expression of dissatisfaction with using of BMI, weight, or appearance to judge a person’s health status. People with a supposedly healthy BMI can have visceral fat causing significant metabolic disease. The scientific term for this concept is normal weight obesity — excess adipose tissue in people with a BMI in […]
March 12, 2014 — Obesity top 10 lists — the fattest and leanest states — made for the latest set of headlines from the Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index this week. The supposed news here is that Mississippi has replaced West Virginia with the highest obesity rate, and that Montana has replaced Colorado with the lowest obesity rate. For entertainment […]
March 11, 2014 — Finding the steps that count for keeping excess weight off have been depressingly elusive. Anyone who has struggled with obesity can tell you that they’ve lost hundreds of pounds over the years, only to see them come back later. They’ll tell you that the real challenge for defeating obesity is to find a strategy for […]
March 10, 2014 — Zebrafish might be the detectives we need to track down obesogens in the food supply — little fishy sleuths to help scientists identify which of the myriad compounds making their way into our food might be contributing to obesity. The notion of obesogens in the food supply causing excess obesity is getting more and more […]
March 9, 2014 — Someone should tell healthcare that Obama is destroying it. In the four years since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law in March, 2010, the value of investments in the U.S. healthcare industry has grown by more than 100%, outpacing the total U.S. equities market, which has done pretty well itself. The trend accelerated in […]
March 8, 2014 — Three food industry pushbacks on recent health and labeling initiatives are taking shape. A $50 Million Ad Campaign. The Grocery Manufacturers Association is planning a campaign to promote their Facts Up Front labeling initiative. The industry likes it because it’s totally voluntary and flexible enough to make room for health marketing claims, in addition to […]
March 7, 2014 — The Journal of the American Medical Association this week published a study showing that opening or expanding casinos on American Indian tribal lands was associated with more economic resources for the community and less risk of childhood obesity. And you thought it was all about opening fresh food markets! As interesting as this study is, […]
March 6, 2014 — Competing obesity trends fill the headlines and make it tough for people to take health reporting seriously. Here’s a sampling from just the last week. Gallup: U.S. Obesity Rate Ticks Up to 27.1% in 2013 LA Times: Obesity in Young American Children Plummets Reuters: Obesity Rates Remain High, but Stable in the U.S. How can […]
March 5, 2014 — Racism may well contribute to a higher incidence of obesity among African American Women. It’s a reasonable supposition and thanks to the Black Women’s Health Study, we have new insight just published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Yvette Cozier and colleagues analyzed prospective data from the Black Women’s Health Study to assess experiences of […]
March 4, 2014 — First Lady Michelle Obama has claimed her place at the top of our list of the top U.S. food and nutrition policymakers with last week’s carefully orchestrated events to celebrate the fourth anniversary of her signature Let’s Move initiative. Obama announced the first major revision to Nutrition Facts labeling in 20 years. With Agriculture Secretary […]
