January 31, 2017 — Dietary supplements live in a unique regulatory space. That space lies somewhere between food and drugs. Sometimes that’s just fine. Vitamins and minerals that your body really needs can be well-regulated for purity and safety. But therapeutic agents also squeeze into this space. For example, glucosamine and chondroitin supplements advertise benefits like “joint mobility.” People with […]
January 30, 2017 — The French say “non.” No more free refills. As of last Friday, selling unlimited servings of sugary soft drinks for a fixed price is illegal in France. This move continues a steady path of measures intended to curb the rise of obesity there. In 2004, France banned vending machines from schools. In 2011, school cafeterias […]
January 29, 2017 — A new study in PLoS One points once again to a simple way to get happy and get healthy. Find joy in an active life. Researchers from the University of Cambridge wrote a smartphone app. More than 10,000 people downloaded and used it to keep track of their moods and lifestyle choices. Accelerometers in the phones […]
January 28, 2017 — A new study published this week in Obesity raises an important question. Can reducing antibiotic misuse for infants be an effective obesity prevention strategy? This study by Melissa Poulson and colleagues is the first study ever to measure how much prenatal and early childhood antibiotic use might contribute to the risk of obesity. Using the […]
January 27, 2017 — Here’s an unusual comparison. It contrasts the value of two different options for childhood obesity: a tax on sugary beverages versus bariatric surgery for adolescents. Steven Gortmaker and colleagues published this analysis in Health Affairs. Gortmaker presented the data yesterday in Washington, DC. Calling this an apples and oranges comparison would be generous. The basis for this comparison has two dimensions. First […]
January 26, 2017 — Thirty years ago, Sandra Boynton put wisdom of the ages into an amusing book: Don’t Let the Turkeys Get You Down. Today, a new study published in Obesity brings life to the importance of that advice. Rebecca Pearl and colleagues present new evidence that the harm of fat shaming is worse when a person takes it […]
January 25, 2017 — A series of reviews in the International Journal of Obesity raises fundamental questions about policies to address obesity. How meaningful is the ever popular idea of junk food? Shouldn’t we instead be concerned about junk diets? Are economic strategies for addressing obesity likely to have a measurable effect? Are we damaging public trust by relying […]
January 24, 2017 — SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the backbone of government efforts to fight hunger. So, naturally, everybody has ideas about ways to make it work smarter. And in a large supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a diverse group of nutrition activists put forward their ideas and analyses. The central idea is […]
January 23, 2017 — Labeling for added sugars is coming soon to nutrition facts labels. So yogurt makers are shedding sugar in their products. They want to keep that healthy halo they have enjoyed for so many years. Until now, the “low-fat” claim on their labels was enough. Even as many yogurts loaded up on sugar, consumers kept believing it […]
January 22, 2017 — You might think doctors need to know something about obesity when they take their medical boards. Unfortunately, you would be wrong. A new study by Robert Kushner and colleagues finds that these exams test medical students extensively on treating the complications of obesity. But on obesity itself, the exams cover very little. If it’s not […]
