Archive for February, 2018

Never Give Up on the Virtue of Doubt

February 28, 2018 — Nattering nabobs of negativism. William Safire wrote those words for Vice President Spiro Agnew to push back on people who doubted him. Three years later, Agnew resigned after a corruption probe and conviction for tax evasion. Doubt always has its doubters. But it has special virtues in science and health. Critical thinking is impossible without […]

Wishful Thinking Comes Back to Bite in Childhood Obesity

February 27, 2018 — It’s a comforting story: “Communities are seeing positive results from comprehensive efforts to reduce childhood obesity.” People investing government and foundation money in this effort want to believe that it’s working. But it’s not. A new report in Pediatrics yesterday made that undeniable. Wishful thinking is coming back to bite in childhood obesity. Said lead […]

Time to Redesign the Process for Dietary Guidelines?

February 26, 2018 — Nutrition science is hitting some hard limits. Diverse scholars say those limits are hurting its credibility and relevance. On top of that, the National Academies says the process for updating dietary guidelines needs a makeover. But at the same time, USDA is drawing fire for a former food industry lobbyist who may guide that process. So […]

Overgrown Placebos: Corporate Wellness Programs

February 25, 2018 — Employers love to say that they have a corporate wellness program. But how much actual wellness do these programs bring to employees? Not much, says a new randomized, controlled study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Placebo Wellness You’ll hear plenty of anecdotal reports. People are sooo much healthier if they participate in […]

AAFP, Weight Bias, and Misinformation About Obesity

February 24, 2018 — This story is profoundly sad. We were reading about a recent decision by the USPSTF to affirm a broad recommendation for intensive lifestyle programs for obesity. The decision is a good one. Reporting on it by the American Academy of Family Practice (AAFP) unfortunately is not so good. AAFP presents the views of someone they […]

Oral Semaglutide: Diabesity Business As Usual Is Doomed

February 23, 2018 — Wachet auf! As if the clues were not already present, an announcement yesterday makes it plain. Competitors in the sleepy diabesity market had best wake up. The first ever oral GLP-1 agonist for diabetes and obesity – semaglutide – is looking good in clinical trials. That means everyone else had better get serious about innovation. Or risk becoming […]

Attraction at Every Size: BMI Doesn’t Explain It

February 22, 2018 — Attraction is in the eye of the beholder. And it turns out that BMI doesn’t do much to explain sexual attraction. Until now, some people have thought that a person with a high BMI might be more attractive to someone with a high BMI themselves. But a new study in Obesity this week squashes that […]

Low Carb, Low Fat, Null Result, Blank Check

February 21, 2018 — JAMA is out with a big, important study of low fat versus low carb dietary strategies. And the study has a null result on three hypotheses the researchers were testing. The results showed no differences in outcomes between the study groups. Low fat was no better than low carb. Also, neither genetic nor insulin secreting […]

When Lifesaving Medical Care is “Cosmetic”

February 20, 2018 — Shawn Alvarado is not healthy and he knows it. He has a sedentary job, working as a dispatcher for a moving company. Now 53 years old, he’s been gaining weight ever since he was a teen. He weighs almost 500 pounds. He has heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea. Without a gastric bypass, his cardiologist […]

RCT Says Vinegar Works for Weight Loss. Is It Credible?

February 19, 2018 — It sounds pretty good. A new study popped up last week in the Journal of Functional Foods. It’s a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) of apple cider vinegar added to a reduced calorie diet for weight loss. Solaleh Khezri and colleagues found that people lost a bit more weight if they consumed a tablespoon of vinegar […]