May 11, 2013 — It just might be that Apple has set the stage for a health reform that has been elusive for decades. The bane of health reformers has long been healthcare records that exist only in physical, paper files. Efficiencies that just about every other industry enjoyed were out of reach because of this addiction to paper records. It […]
May 10, 2013 — A new book by Mika Brzezinski and a new study have put food addiction in the spotlight this week. Researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health published a study in Obesity this week, finding a 90% increase in the risk of food addiction for women who experienced physical or sexual abuse […]
May 9, 2013 — When does a food desert become a money pit? One answer might be: when well-intended people persistently spend money on fixing food deserts without stopping to figure out what really works. A new study and news about ongoing efforts to give people better access to nutritious foods begs us to stop and think. In the […]
May 8, 2013 — Almost a year after FDA approved lorcaserin (Belviq®) for introduction in the U.S. and recommended that DEA label it as a class IV controlled substance, DEA has finally cleared the way by concurring with FDA’s recommendation. Class IV is the second least restrictive class for drugs with abuse potential and is the same class assigned […]
May 8, 2013 — Chris Christie is many things, but not ordinarily a quiet guy. Yet three months ago, right after appearing on Letterman to make jokes about being fat — even eating a doughnut on camera to make light of it — Christie had bariatric surgery and told virtually no one until this week. Says Christie, “If I […]
May 7, 2013 — Obesity surgery works through more than simple mechanical manipulation of the GI tract. Obesity researchers have suspected this for some time and new research results are making it increasingly clear. Recent publications suggest that obesity surgery interacts with genes that affect obesity and with the microbiome — microbes in our gut that have so much […]
May 6, 2013 — Entrepreneurs selling employee wellness programs are having their day in the sun. And why not? Employees spend most of their waking hours at work and the workplace has a huge impact on an employee’s health and risk of obesity. Who could possibly be opposed to promoting wellness? But the problem is that many, if not […]
May 5, 2013 — Fueled by consumer demand and the need to rethink food — how we make, market, and deliver it — food innovation opportunities attracted a boom in venture capital funding for 2012. Funding for the burgeoning food technology sector attracted a record $350 million in venture capital, up 37% over the prior year. These figures come […]
May 4, 2013 — Kelly Brownell, pioneering public health expert in obesity, who founded and led the Yale Rudd Center for Food Science and Obesity since 2005, will become dean of the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University on July 1. This week, Duke announced a $10 million gift to the Sanford School from David Rubenstein. Brownell […]
May 3, 2013 — At the Third Canadian Obesity Summit, Harvard Professor Darkish Mozaffarian and Coke VP Rhona Applebaum gave sharply contrasting presentations in quick succession on Thursday. Both of them talked about how different sorts of calories count in obesity, but Applebaum had a very different story to tell. To be fair, she had a tough assignment. Right […]
