Archive for December, 2016

Will Urban Planning Put a Dent in Obesity?

December 31, 2016 — Urban sprawl is more than just a traffic problem, say urban planners. It’s a trigger for obesity and a hazard to human health. Certainly, many elements of sprawl are on the list of suspects that might be contributing to the obesity epidemic. Pollution, impediments to physical activity, social isolation, and stressful congestion are all factors. Urban Ventures President […]

Work-Walk-Work Therapy

December 30, 2016 — We’ve heard the warnings. Sitting is killing us. So people are responding. Sales of standing desks are booming. Varidesk has grown from a wobbly startup to market leader in just three years. Walking desks might offer more benefits…at at a much higher cost. But research is pointing to a much simpler answer – work-walk-work therapy. It’s really […]

Top Ten in Healthcare Spending: Little for Obesity Care

December 29, 2016 — You can look at healthcare spending in two different ways. One way is to ask, “What are we buying?” The alternative is to ask, “What are we paying for?”  A new study published this week in JAMA shows that we’re buying very little obesity care, but paying a lot for untreated obesity. Of the top ten conditions […]

Getting a Grip on the Reality of Bariatric Surgery

December 28, 2016 — One of the Top 10 Advances of 2016 in obesity and health is better, more meaningful reporting. Gina Kolata of the New York Times has been producing outstanding reports on obesity for nearly a year. She continued yesterday with an in-depth story about the reality of bariatric surgery. Her latest report is the story of […]

Learning to Feed Our Babies for Better Health

December 27, 2016 — Much of the risk of obesity is set biologically very early in life or even at birth. Many efforts to prevent it seem like too little, too late. Could it be that simply learning to feed our babies for better health could have a meaningful impact, helping to prevent obesity in the next generation? An […]

Top 10 Advances of 2016 in Obesity and Health

December 26, 2016 — If you’re looking for signs of progress in obesity and health, you can find it in 2016. Obesity is a tough nut to crack, so we don’t have breakthroughs and cures to report – yet. What we have is solid advances that will make life and health better for people concerned about obesity. Here’s our […]

Comfort, Joy, and Health for the Coming Year

December 25, 2016 — A few days ago, we asked and you answered: what should we wish for in the coming year? We had no idea what to expect but you came through with a delightful range of perspectives on comfort, joy, and health from all around the world. Five themes were evident. You can see them on the […]

Finding a Healthy Space Between Solitude and Isolation

December 24, 2016 — A quiet plague grows acute at this time of year – social isolation. It can trigger a host of chronic health problems, including obesity. Writing in the New York Times, physician Dhruv Khullar explains: Social isolation is a growing epidemic — one that’s increasingly recognized as having dire physical, mental and emotional consequences. Since the 1980s, the […]

Whatever Happened to the Smartwatch Boom?

December 23, 2016 — Just about two years after Apple promised that the Apple Watch would change our lives, we’re wondering. Are we watching a smartwatch boom, a bust, or a work in progress? A new report from IDC says that things haven’t quite happened as Apple predicted back in April 2015. Smartwatches still haven’t killed the basic Fitbit, which […]

If They Call It Rose Milk, Will You Drink It?

December 22, 2016 — Have you noticed that lots of milk doesn’t come from mammary glands these days? Eager to tap into consumer fancies, innovators are offering up just about any kind of plant-based milk you can imagine. Almond, soy, flax, rice, hazelnut, hemp, quinoa, and cashew milk are some of the options. For rose milk, you still have […]