Archive for June, 2016

Middle Ground in Telling Stories About Fatness?

June 30, 2016 — Ira Glass and This American Life get a B+ for telling stories about fatness on this popular public radio program. In an episode called “Tell Me I’m Fat,” Glass presents a pretty complete picture of the pervasive bias against people living in big bodies. Roughly half of the episode revolves around Lindy West and her experience “coming […]

Experts Agree Jardiance Reduces Cardiac Deaths

June 29, 2016 — Late yesterday, expert advisors to the FDA voted by a margin of 12-11 that the diabetes drug Jardiance (emagliflozin) does indeed cut the risk of cardiovascular deaths for patients with type 2 diabetes who have a history of cardiovascular disease. The committee was unanimous in its agreement that the drug offers good cardiovascular safety. But […]

Discipline Doesn’t Prevent Obesity in the Military

June 28, 2016 — We sometimes hear from people who should know better that obesity results from a failure of self-discipline. It’s a conviction that’s hard to shake. But a new study in Obesity finds a rising rate of obesity in one of the most highly disciplined populations in the world: the U.S. military. Clearly, discipline does not protect people […]

Banning Body Images

June 27, 2016 — London Mayor Sadiq Khan is receiving mixed reviews for banning advertisements on London’s public transportation that promote an unhealthy body image. Advertising for a weight loss supplement first stirred up this controversy a year ago. More than 70,000 people supported a change.org petition to have beach body ready advertising removed from publication. Khan fulfilled a campaign […]

Instruct the Patient to Lose Weight

June 26, 2016 — Obesity medicine physician Ethan Lazarus explained to healthcare professionals in Philadelphia Friday how little he needed to know about treating obesity when recently renewing his board certification in Family Medicine. When necessary, “instruct the patient to lose weight.” That was it. It’s a low bar to clear. But such instructions don’t work out too well. […]

Employers Investing in Health and Wellness

June 25, 2016 — At the 8th Annual Obesity Treatment and Prevention Conference in Philadelphia this week, Eileen  Seeholzer described employers investing in the health and wellness of their workforces with integrity. She was quick to express concerns about the ethics and effectiveness of narrowly-focused programs with financial penalties and incentives based on BMI. But she moved on to say: […]

Evidence That Community-Based Obesity Prevention Can Work

June 24, 2016 — A new study in the American Journal of Public Health provides encouraging evidence that community-based obesity prevention can work in disadvantaged black communities to reduce the prevalence of obesity. Youlian Liao and colleagues from the CDC analyzed changes in the prevalence of obesity in communities targeted for the REACH US program. Liao told MedicalResearch.com: In […]

Double Stigma: Addiction and Obesity

June 23, 2016 — A new commentary published in the International Journal of Obesity brings attention to rising concerns about the double stigma of addiction and obesity. Nasreen Alfaris and colleagues present the case of a patient at the Mass General Weight Management Center distressed by being characterized as a drug addict during a bariatric pre-op evaluation. The reason? […]

Three Views: Health, Costs, and Obesity

June 22, 2016 — Though total health costs have risen more slowly than expected since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), they remain high and continue rising. Why? What is the role of obesity and its complications? For perspective, BenefitsPRO.com recently consulted with three diverse health industry professionals, including ConscienHealth Founder Ted Kyle. Investment in Prevention. Marcy Buckner […]

No More Sugar Bombs from Mars?

June 21, 2016 — The world’s largest candy maker, Mars, is determined to stop dropping sugar bombs into the food supply. Reuters reports that the company has been in talks with McDonald’s to remove M&Ms from their McFlurry desserts. A 12 oz McFlurry with M&Ms has 89 grams of sugar. Compare that with new dietary guidelines that recommend no more […]