March 11, 2017 — Drink more water, Michelle Obama told us in the Let’s Move! campaign. She wasn’t the first with that advice. It’s everywhere. The presumption is that water can substitute for sweetened beverages, fill you up, and help you lose or maintain a lower weight. Thankfully, Julia Wong and colleagues from Boston Children’s Hospital tested that advice. […]
March 10, 2017 — For millions of people who don’t really need a gluten-free diet, eating less gluten might actually have a downside. Research presented at the AHA Epi|Lifestyle meeting yesterday found that people who ate less gluten had a slightly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The investigators found no difference in the risk of weight gain. […]
March 9, 2017 — Too much sugar and too few nuts are killing us, apparently. That’s how press reports distilled a recent paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). On the other side of the globe, the messaging is similar. “Obesity has got us by our flabby throats,” says Peter FitzSimons in the Sydney Morning Herald. He […]
March 8, 2017 — Will health insurance for obesity change under the new Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with the American Health Care Act (AHCA)? The short answer is maybe and maybe not. Some of the Basics The new plan repeals the mandate for everyone to buy insurance or face a penalty. Instead, people will […]
March 7, 2017 — It’s happening everywhere else. Can we hope to avoid a mash-up of beliefs and science in the politics of obesity? A new publication in American Politics Research says no. A quick look at reporting on this research is even more discouraging. Science Daily tells us: Obese Democrats Blame Genetics Normal Weight Democrats and Most Republicans […]
March 6, 2017 — Very unfair! Last week, the media went after ketchup. Is nothing sacred? Food snobs are attacking President Trump for having ketchup with his steak. Benny Johnson of the Independent Journal Review spilled the beans. Acting on a tip, he staked out the steakhouse in Trump’s Washington hotel. He told the world how Trump orders a […]
March 5, 2017 — Will common sense cure childhood obesity? A new study in Pediatrics is humbling. The seemingly preventable problem of childhood obesity is defying our best efforts. Barry Taylor and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial of obesity prevention in the first two years of life. They carefully designed a program to target sleep, food, and physical activity. They found […]
March 4, 2017 — It started with a blog post. Brian Wansink wrote an entry for his blog and called it “The Grad Student Who Never Said No.” It quickly turned into a sticky mess. The essay described an unpaid grad student from Turkey with energy and enthusiasm for exploring data in Wansink’s lab. Wansink is famous for clever research […]
March 3, 2017 — How can it be that obesity is a hidden disease? In a 2009 study of patient records, Jun Ma and colleagues found that healthcare providers seldom diagnose obesity. Of patients with a BMI in the range of obesity, 70% do not receive a diagnosis. Misperceptions in Rural Patients In self reports, people consistently say that […]
March 2, 2017 — The idea that sitting is the new smoking has taken off. This compelling narrative – that your desk chair is killing you – is so titillating that you’ll find 33 million results on Google. We have an ample supply of infographics, books, TED Talks, and more. Just one tiny problem is cropping up: hyperbole. Reviewing the Evidence […]
