Archive for November, 2014

The Tipping Point in Obesity

November 20, 2014 — The tipping point in obesity increasingly looks like it might be traced to the metabolic health of mothers. Growing evidence for epigenetic effects of maternal health that transmit obesity from mother to child is part of this picture. A symposium at ObesityWeek 2014 provided an excellent overview of the emerging science on epigenetic mechanisms for […]

5 Surprises in the Costs of Obesity

November 19, 2014 — A new study of the costs of obesity and savings that come from its treatment holds a few surprises. Having such a rigorous and up-to-date analysis is itself a nice surprise. But within the study, you’ll find a few surprises. Class 1 Obesity isn’t terribly expensive. Between a BMI of 30 and 35, the incremental […]

Consumers Say “Duh! Added Sugars Labeling Will Be Helpful”

November 18, 2014 — New research published today in the journal Obesity finds that consumers believe — by a wide margin — that information about added sugars on Nutrition Facts food labels will be more helpful than confusing. The FDA proposal to require this information has attracted 287,874 public comments and intense opposition from some elements of the food […]

What’s This about Coffee Saving Us from Obesity?

November 17, 2014 — Headlines lately have been suggesting the possibility of coffee saving us from obesity. Here’s a sampling: Coffee May Help Combat Obesity New Research Touts Benefits of Coffee in Combating Diabetes, Obesity Coffee Chemical Could Offset Diseases Related to Obesity Coffee May Help You Shed Weight! Drinking Coffee May Soon Become the Quickest Way to Lose […]

UPDATE: CDC Confirms LeanWorks! Site Is Down “for Review”

November 16, 2014 — UPDATE 11/19/2014: CDC spokesperson Brittany Behm confirms that CDC has taken down this website for review. She said “the recent attention to the LEAN Works! program caused us to put this part of the website at the top of the list for review, hence why it is currently down. The potential misuse of this information […]

$10 Million to Escape Fat City

November 15, 2014 — The story of NIH spending $10 million on a video game to help kids escape fat city has something to annoy everyone. Let’s start with offensive stereotypes that promote weight bias. The game’s hero is an athletic youth who falls into a fat city — the kingdom of Diab with an evil, fat ruler who […]

Three Tribes of Obesity

November 14, 2014 — Last week’s immersion in ObesityWeek provided a stimulating exposure to crosscurrents from three tribes of obesity. It’s enough to make you dizzy. Healthies swim ably in “the modern food supply and sea of technology” that people such as David Katz of Yale University imagine to be the primary source of obesity. Calls for attention to treatment of obesity are […]

Eating Guilt

November 13, 2014 — A study recently published in Appetite suggests that celebration beats guilt when thinking about chocolate cake. In a sample of 294 people, researchers assessed whether an individual associated chocolate cake with guilt or celebration. Further, they examined attitudes, intentions, behaviors, and self-control over healthy eating behaviors. And finally, they followed up 18 months later to assess changes […]

Policy: “We Often Have No Idea What We’re Talking About”

November 12, 2014 — When we debate public policy, we often have no idea what we’re talking about. Even members of Congress may sometimes have no idea because they can’t. We do not analyze public policy with anything close to the scientific rigor with which we study the efficacy of drugs or the safety of cars. With this opening […]

Two Impressive Trials: Weight Management That Works

November 11, 2014 — Weight management that works doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles. It just needs smart people designing the program with good attention to details. Two such impressive studies were presented at ObesityWeek 2014. They produced impressive weight loss in the range of 12 to 18% with very straightforward programs. The first was a study led […]