Archive for November, 2014

Top Ten Observations from ObesityWeek 2014

November 10, 2014 — With most people back at home or off to their next meetings, observations from ObesityWeek are becoming memories and the basis for planning next year’s meeting in Los Angeles. From an informal poll of the best and brightest in obesity, here are the top ten observations from this intense experience of the week just past. Build […]

Obesity Suppresses Curiosity

November 9, 2014 — Twitter provided concise evidence at ObesityWeek 2014 that obesity affects curiosity in a bad way. We have been thinking for some time about how obesity suppresses curiosity. The same studies seem to get repeated over and over again without really proving anything. Associations between risk factors become so familiar that people start believing a cause and effect […]

Tasteful Obesity

November 9, 2014 — New studies at ObesityWeek 2014 gave us pause to think about tasteful obesity — the intensity of experiencing food and the cravings created thereby. In particular, a study by incoming ASMBS president John Morton received particular attention. He and colleagues from Stanford found that reductions in taste intensity after weight loss surgery predicted significantly greater weight loss. […]

Listen: Reeger Cortell and Ted Kyle re. Obesity Meds

November 8, 2014 — Reeger Cortell is a remarkable family nurse practitioner who — quite literally in her spare time — regularly produces an extraordinary podcast with people who describe their experiences and expertise related to obesity and bariatric surgery. It’s hard to believe that she produces this inspiring podcast with such a high standard of quality while working full […]

Another Combination Drug for Obesity in the Works

November 8, 2014 — Some years ago, Louis Aronne predicted that combination drug therapy would be the future of obesity medicine. It’s looking more and more like he was right. An early look at another combination drug for obesity — lorcaserin + phentermine — came with the late-breaking posters on Thursday at ObesityWeek 2014. Steven Smith and colleagues presented results […]

Difficulty Reading the Menu (Data)

November 7, 2014 — We’re having difficulty reading the menu labeling data at ObesityWeek 2014. A study presented in the second annual Obesity journal symposium showed a promising result: a 50% reduction in weight gain over a 36-week academic year when college students were exposed to menu calorie labeling. The lead researcher on this study, Charoula Konstantia Nikolaou, says: […]

People First, Except Obesity

November 6, 2014 — At ObesityWeek 2014, Andrew Brown presented an elegant analysis of people first language in asthma, autism, diabetes, and obesity. He used Google Books nGram Viewer to examine how frequently people first language has been used over time in various conditions. His analysis shows that when it comes to putting people first, obesity is last. The preference for […]

Evidence of a Big Shift in Attitudes about Obesity

November 5, 2014 — Research presented at ObesityWeek 2014 by ConscienHealth founder Ted Kyle, Diana Thomas of Montclair State University, and Adam Tsai of Kaiser Permanente has found evidence of a big shift in attitudes about obesity among American adults and healthcare professionals. Significantly fewer Americans are viewing obesity as a “personal problem of bad choices” in 2014 than […]

New Growth in Obesity Treatment Options

November 5, 2014 — Signs of new growth in obesity treatment options are appearing at ObesityWeek 2014 in Boston this week. Novo Nordisk presented a sweeping scope of results on Tuesday from clinical trials with its drug, liraglutide, which is awaiting final approval from FDA. Researchers are presenting new data for other obesity treatments — lorcaserin, bupropion/naltrexone, and phenteramine/topiramate — that […]

Evidence for Action in Obesity

November 4, 2014 — Questions about the evidence for action to reduce the impact of obesity were at the center of a thoughtful and lively advocacy forum yesterday at ObesityWeek 2014. Moderated by ConscienHealth’s Ted Kyle, presenters examined the problem of taking action when the evidence for the potential effects of action is incomplete. Bill Dietz — who led CDC efforts against […]