Archive for May, 2017

Clean Label, Clean Food, Clean Health?

May 11, 2017 — If you’re looking for a case study of the disconnect between “healthy food” and actual health, you might want to look at the clean label movement. And in particular, data today released at the 50th Annual ESPGHAN Congress tells a disturbing story. Clean Labels: A Benchmark for Food Makers The movement to clean labels is one of the hot […]

Nothing Simple About What Salt Does to Your Body

May 10, 2017 — What could be simpler than salt? Plenty, it seems. New research in the Journal of Clinical Investigations suggests that some basic concepts about dietary salt are way off the mark. You think it makes you thirsty so you’ll drink more water? As it turns out, that’s not how it works. Instead, salty food and drink […]

Obesity: Chronic Care for a Chronic Disease

May 9, 2017 — Let’s connect the dots. Obesity is a complex, chronic disease. So says the American Medical Association. Chronic diseases require chronic care to prevent complications. So it makes sense that ongoing care would produce better outcomes. But even better, we now have evidence that chronic care saves money. A New RCT in The Lancet Amy Ahern […]

Mental Health: One Less Excuse for Denying Access to Care

May 8, 2017 — We get it. Bariatric surgery – not unlike any surgery – costs real money. But unlike many other surgeries, health plans have a bagful of excuses for dodging the bill. One of those excuses for discrimination – mental health – may be evaporating. Good Outcomes, Even in Patients with Severe Mental Illness A new study in the May issue […]

Regulating Food Marketing to Reduce Obesity

May 7, 2017 — “Food advertising and marketing has helped convince the average American that it’s OK to eat lower quality foods more often and in larger portion sizes,” says Sujit Sharma in a CNN commentary. If we “learn from the war on tobacco” and regulate food marketing, can we make an impact on obesity? Sharma and a growing […]

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Prevented Obesity

May 6, 2017 — Why haven’t we prevented obesity yet? Over and over again, we hear the rallying cry. In the Huffington Post, we read that we’ve got to continue focusing on nutrition and physical activity to make further progress controlling obesity. But with obesity rates at an all time high – 38% of American Adults – exactly how much obesity are […]

Is Obesity Treatment Innovation Gaining Momentum?

May 5, 2017 — We confess. Good news about obesity treatment innovation brings a smile here. The options right now are OK, but limited. So new options are especially welcome. This week brought news of progress on two fronts. DNA-PK: A New Drug Target for Mid-Life Obesity NIH researchers this week published their discovery of a critical role for the […]

Yo-Yo Dieting: A Seductive Mix of Myth and Reality

May 4, 2017 — Yo-yo dieting is an boogeyman that persists stubbornly in defiance of the facts. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is the latest fuel for a mix of derision and fear mongering. Researchers found an association between weight fluctuations and bad outcomes from heart disease. They did not study dieting or […]

Alternate Day Fasting Hype Should Be Fading Fast

May 3, 2017 — As a spiritual practice, fasting has deep roots in many religions. But when spiritual practices try to make the leap into health practices, look out. For a prime example, it now looks like the hype about the alternate day miracle fast should be fading fast. A new randomized, controlled study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds no benefit […]

School Nutrition: Take It with a Grain of Salt

May 2, 2017 — Is human nutrition now a political issue? It seems so. In his first week on the job, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue dined on chicken nuggets at a Virginia elementary school. Then he announced he is easing back on school nutrition standards. This administration will “make school meals great again,” he proclaimed. Careful Praise for Michelle Obama Perdue offered […]