September 11, 2016 — Writing in the Washington Post, Tim Gunn says that designers in the fashion industry “haven’t bothered to hide their contempt” for the average American woman, who wears a size 16 or 18. Is the fashion industry reflecting a self-hating culture or creating it? For perspective, consider a new study to be published in Fashion and […]
September 10, 2016 — The Obesity Action Coalition stepped forward this week to provide a better picture of living with obesity, free from bias and stigma. The OAC Image Gallery launched with 500 respectful images that can be used freely in news, social media, and educational media. By 2017, the gallery will expand to more than 4,000 images, making […]
September 9, 2016 — The American Heart Association is promoting an analysis from its journal that suggests regular exercise can save money. In fact, the authors of this study find that medical expenses are about $2,500 lower annually for people who meet current guidelines for regular exercise. That’s at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. The […]
September 8, 2016 — New research with infants gives us reason to think that social cues might be very important for shaping food preferences beginning at a very early age. Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Zoe Liberman and colleagues summarized a series of experiments that document the importance social cues. They found that infants already […]
September 7, 2016 — Where shall we place the blame for obesity? This question consumes an extraordinary amount of energy that could go into solving the problem. Most people assume that obesity is a personal problem of bad choices. Many other people call it a community problem caused by unhealthy food and too little opportunity to be active. In truth, […]
September 6, 2016 — For many years, the Trust for America’s Health has been cranking out obesity scorecards. In concert with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, they’ve just rolled out the 2016 edition of The State of Obesity. More a media tool than an objective analysis, this report generates an impressive volume of headlines: Do You Live in One […]
September 5, 2016 — We have a global epidemic in our midst. All over the world, people are blurting out things that they know are wrong. The latest, startling example comes from the UK National Health Service (NHS) in North Yorkshire. Last week, local administrators announced plans for explicit weight discrimination in healthcare. The plan was to make people with […]
September 4, 2016 — It’s predictable. Whenever we write about weight bias, someone protests. “Why do you want to let those people off the hook?” Sometimes it comes on the form of ranting. Sometimes it’s snide humor. Most often it’s a simple comment along the lines of: “You can’t tell me it’s not their fault.” And in fact, many […]
September 3, 2016 — Is human obesity reflected in our pets as they increasingly suffer from the same condition? In Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, a new issue devoted entirely to the subject paints a picture that mirrors the problem in humans. Obesity is perhaps the biggest health problem facing our animal companions. Many owners deny that […]
September 2, 2016 — An impressive new study of ten-year outcomes for bariatric surgery makes us wonder whether it’s caution or fear that is holding people back from choosing to have bariatric surgery. Caution makes perfect sense in thinking about this surgery. Fears are not such good guides. The new study shows that bariatric surgery patients in the VA system […]
