February 9, 2015 — Fecal transplant has quickly moved from the status of a medical oddity to an accepted, lifesaving therapy for Clostridium dificile colitis. In parallel to its development for c. diff, obesity researchers have been studying the impact of transplanting fecal microbes from animals with obesity to animals without it, and vice versa. So the case report of a […]
February 8, 2015 — Here’s a headline you don’t see every day: “Bubonic Plague in the NY Subway System — Don’t Worry About It.” Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College published a study in Cell Systems this week that essentially mapped the microbiome of the the NY subway system. Buried in the article was a casual mention that they found […]
February 7, 2015 — People with good intentions murmuring platitudes about childhood obesity are supremely frustrating. They are frustrating because they sincerely want to help and they are sincerely misguided at times. This week, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) hosted a big media event in New York City to unveil a report that crows about “Declining Childhood Obesity […]
February 6, 2015 — The first drug treatment ever for binge eating disorder (BED) was just approved by FDA a week ago and already we have NEDA, BEDA, and Monica Seles teaming up with the maker of that drug, Shire plc, on a disease awareness program for BED. Compared to many disease awareness campaigns, this one definitely has merit. Binge […]
February 5, 2015 — Obesity on Comedy Central seems like a formula for disaster. Against low expectations, Larry Wilmore certainly performed well this week when he devoted his show to the subject, specifically focusing on the implications of disabilities and discrimination. You can watch the opening segment here: This is one of those glass-half-full things. Comedy tends to […]
February 4, 2015 — If you spend time puzzling over the seemingly impossible knot of the obesity problem, it becomes evident that many different people, places, and reasons come into play. Different people, in different places, all have very different reasons for what they do and what will work to address obesity. Sorting out the different needs of different […]
February 3, 2015 — Television binges are gaining more and more attention. Netflix, Amazon, and other video streaming services are certainly changing the way people consume television, making binges on television more tempting than ever before. And increasingly, researchers are probing the implications of such behavior. One such study will be presented at an upcoming meeting of the International […]
February 2, 2015 — Diverse experts are pointing out that it will take a broad range of innovations to bend the curve on obesity. The creativity and diversity of thinking is refreshing in a series of interviews assembled by the Institute of Food Technologists. Louis Aronne proposes that a dramatic increase in treatment options for obesity could make obesity as […]
February 1, 2015 — “Plain of feature, and certainly overweight” is how a leading Australian newspaper began its obituary for a woman who is perhaps Australia’s most celebrated novelist. Should we mention that she was also a neuroneuroscientist? Immediately, FatLadyObit hit viral status. Colleen McCullough wrote The Thorn Birds, which became an international best seller, sold more than 30 million copies in […]
