January 21, 2018 — Diet Coke has an image problem. It starts with the fact that consumers now hate its first name – Diet. Adding to its woes are a whole series of urban legends that the brand just can’t shake. In a desperate effort for a fresh start, now we have a whole new look for Diet Coke – bright, […]
January 20, 2018 — The big JAMA obesity issue came out this week with a promising theme: “Reimagining Obesity in 2018.” It was full of good new data on bariatric surgery. But it was a little short on imagination. At JAMA, judging by the content of this special issue, they’re still not quite ready to rethink obesity. Count Calories, […]
January 19, 2018 — Call it “a modest proposal” if you like. But the authors probably don’t intend this to be satire. Writing in the American Journal of Public Health, Jennifer Pomeranz and colleagues tell us that we can tax junk food all across America anytime we want to. They offer a wry conclusion. “Political feasibility in the current political […]
January 18, 2018 — Perhaps you noticed. This week, everyone is interested in the president’s BMI. Following a press briefing, Twitter became obsessed with the subject. But the only good we can find in this fuss is an object lesson on how stigma promotes self-deception about health and obesity. White House doctor Ronny Jackson told the press that our […]
January 17, 2018 — JAMA released a special issue devoted to obesity late yesterday. Bariatric surgery is front and center. The study that’s grabbing headlines is a retrospective study of survival after bariatric surgery. In a very careful analysis, researchers found that after approximately 4.5 years, bariatric surgery cuts the risk of death by almost half, compared to usual […]
January 16, 2018 — American lives have grown shorter for the second year in a row. When CDC issued these statistics in December, all the talk was about drug overdoses. That’s certainly a factor. But a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences points to growing obesity rates for peeling away nearly a year […]
January 15, 2018 — It’s an obvious and fair question. Quite often, we describe serious flaws in current strategies to address obesity. If we’re going to find fault with current strategies, then what’s the alternative? What should we do about obesity? Here, we offer three priorities that would be at the top of the list if we ran the […]
January 14, 2018 — We share a common passion of making the world a better place for people affected by obesity. As doctors, nurses, and patient advocates, we lend our voices and knowledge to this fight. OAC creates extraordinary education materials, dispels myths, challenges bias, and creates a community where members connect with one another. Together, we fight for […]
January 13, 2018 — C’mon Medscape. Genes are no excuse for obesity? Is that the best you can do with a fine study of obesity, diet, and genetic risk? Sadly, Medscape’s bias about obesity is showing. That’s because the website translated hope for overcoming obesity into a finger wagging headline about excuses. Highly Heritable, Poorly Understood Scientists have long […]
January 12, 2018 — The puritanism within us is alive and well, says Matthew Hutson. That much is clear from a new, white-hot debate published in the Annual Review of Public Health. That debate is all about nicotine. But our ongoing obsession with the perils of sugar echoes many of the same themes – along with some important differences. Nicotine: […]
