January 21, 2015 — A study of how pizza fits into the dietary habits of children and adolescents is front page news this week — with plenty of confusion swirling. Lisa Powell and colleagues found that kids who eat more pizza also consume more calories, saturated fat, and sodium in their overall diets. Snacking on pizza and eating fast food pizza […]
January 20, 2015 — The birthday of Scotland’s beloved poet, Robert Burns, is upon us. Kilts, Scotch, and haggis will be the centerpiece of celebrations in Scotland — but the haggis will be hard to find in the U.S. Lord McColl of Dulwich sees this as a compound problem. The retired professor of surgery and Conservative member the British House of […]
January 19, 2015 — Social exclusion is one of the prime ways that people experience the bias and stigma associated with obesity. New research published in Eating Behaviors helps explain why this is so damaging. The research also provides clues for strategies to relieve the problem. In a randomized, controlled study of emotional responses to social exclusion, researchers from […]
January 17, 2015 — Drugs can have a profound effect on the health of people with obesity — for better or for worse. When the long process to develop new obesity treatment guidelines in 2013 did not include anything about drugs, a sigh of disappointment was audible. So the brand new publication of guidance on obesity drugs by the […]
January 16, 2015 — Punitive wellness programs are coming under increasing scrutiny. “Wellness or else is the trend,” according to Jon Robinson of Salveo Partners, a workplace health consulting organization. According to statistics from the National Business Group on Health, two-thirds of large companies use incentives to encourage employees to participate in their wellness programs. And nearly a quarter […]
January 15, 2015 — Surprises sometimes offer the best learning. Head Start was not explicitly designed as an childhood obesity prevention program. Launched in 1965, it was conceived long before we had an epidemic of childhood obesity. It was aimed to deliver early childhood education and promote good nutrition, health, and parental involvement for children from low income families And […]
January 14, 2015 — FDA today approved the first new medical device for the treatment of obesity in more than a decade, the EnteroMedics Maestro VBLOC system. An FDA advisory committee issued a split, but positive decision on this device last June, concluding it offers benefits which outweigh its risks. The VBLOC system works by blocking impulses of the […]
January 14, 2015 — What’s the value of innovation in obesity treatment? An unusually diverse group of stakeholders gathered at the Center for Medical Technology Policy (CMTP) to define some shared views about value in obesity treatment Monday. Patient advocates, private health plans, scientific organizations, regulators, government health plans, and medical technology innovators were all represented. Obesity Action Coalition CEO […]
January 13, 2015 — Some of the most remarkable agents of change in obesity gathered in San Antonio this past weekend to celebrate progress and set the coming year’s goals for the work of the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC). 2014 was a year when OAC set new records for participation in its annual conference for people affected by obesity […]
January 12, 2015 — Cheer up! A new study finds that optimism is linked to better heart health. Based on this, the lead investigator, Rosalba Hernandez, is telling us: Optimism may be a potential avenue for AHA to reach its goal of improving Americans’ cardiovascular health. Call us pessimistic, but we’re not sure this will work. The study itself […]
