Archive for August, 2014

Metformin Wonder Drug Headlines

August 13, 2014 — What’s with all this wonder drug talk about metformin? It’s already deemed one of the most essential drugs for diabetes treatment. Now a new study of mortality in people with type 2 diabetes is generating headlines about metformin helping people live longer — perhaps even people who don’t have diabetes. The investigators seem to be encouraging […]

Is Fat Shaming OK if You Target Parents?

August 12, 2014 — The folks who brought you billboards saying “Fat Kids Become Fat Adults” are back in the news because of a fat shaming video that’s getting lots of play on YouTube this week. This video seems to direct more of the shame toward the parents. It traces the roots of an young adult’s obesity back to […]

What’s Becoming of the Word “Fat”?

August 12, 2014 — The word fat seems to be in a state of transition. On one hand, fat activists are reclaiming the word with pride. Media is feeling some license to use the word to grab our attention with headlines like “What makes us Fat?” And then there’s the Weather Channel serving up Fat Guys in the Woods, more […]

Losing Weight Is Depressing?

August 11, 2014 — The headlines are certainly depressing: Losing Weight Could Make You Depressed It’s Official: Dieting DOES Make Us Depressed Losing Weight Might Make You Healthier But Not Happier Dieting Does Make Us Depressed Dieting May Cure Obesity And Heart Disease, But It Also Breeds Unhappiness Those headlines flow from a complex study that — gasp — […]

E-Cigarettes & Sweeteners: Who Needs Facts?

August 10, 2014 — Who needs facts when you know it’s wrong? Though e-cigarettes and low-calorie sweeteners are very different, the angst that they both cause for some health advocates is very similar. Both of them are objectively less harmful than alternatives that might be considered a vice. And both of them are routinely criticized as harmful, despite a […]

Chippuccino?

August 9, 2014 — Chippuccino is coming to a store near you. Seriously. Along with Bacon Mac & Cheese, Wavy Mango Salsa, and Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger chips, Frito-Lay is now shipping Cappuccino potato chips to supermarkets around the U.S. Those four flavors were the winners from thousands of submissions in the Lays Do Us a Flavor contest, which […]

Too Much Food or Too Little Movement?

August 8, 2014 — What does it mean that the world has such an excess of obesity? Is it the consequence of too much food? The wrong kind of food? Too little movement? These questions have no definitive answers. But one more analysis this week attempts to answer them anyway. Published in the American Journal of Medicine, this study examined data […]

Slim Pickings or Superficial Analysis?

August 7, 2014 — A superficial analysis of new obesity treatment options in JAMA Internal Medicine has prompted some strong pushback from two of the top organizations devoted to obesity. Leaders of the Obesity Society (TOS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) this week published rebuttals in the journal to the earlier publication on these new obesity drugs. In the original publication, Steven Woloshin and Lisa […]

Windowless Offices, Poorer Sleep

August 6, 2014 — Windowless offices and other workplace factors might have a greater effect on your health than some of the superficial employer wellness plans we’ve seen. More and more data is bringing attention to the need for thoughtful design of the work environment for optimal health. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine finds […]

Three Conclusions Disconnected from Data

August 5, 2014 — It’s pretty common to read headlines about obesity and nutrition studies that have nothing to do with what the studies actually showed. Sadly, we’re used to seeing this a lot. But more commonly than you would think, the conclusion in a study itself is disconnected from the study’s actual findings. Reader beware. Here are three recent unfortunate […]