Archive for October, 2017

U.S. and Canada: Confusion on Obesity Care Coverage

October 31, 2017 — For a long time now, Canadians have taken pride in their system of universal healthcare. In the U.S., more people than ever before now have health insurance. But a new study presented at ObesityWeek 2017 shows that one thing hasn’t improved in either country. Obesity care coverage  remains poor in both countries. Both in the […]

New Research: Too Much Internal Weight Bias

October 30, 2017 — A new study published today in Obesity tells us that one in five adults are carrying a heavy burden – internal weight bias. Rebecca Puhl will be presenting these results at ObesityWeek on Wednesday. In their research, Puhl and colleagues studied internalized weight bias in a total of 3,504 U.S. adults. While 20% of the […]

Looking for a Model of Scientific Integrity?

October 29, 2017 — Stuff happens. Errors creep into research papers. We gripe about it here from time to time. But today we have a great example of how scientific integrity works. Back in July, a group of researchers, led by Yulyu Yeh, published a paper about nutrition education for African-American preschoolers. Their analysis found a benefit for the […]

The Simplicity of Obesity and the Magic of Nutrition

October 28, 2017 — Welcome to a world of magic. In this world, obesity is simple. One pound of fat is the result of eating 3,500 calories. In this magical kingdom, the exalted Mayo Clinic tells us: Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. […]

Finding More Diagnoses of Type 2 Diabetes Is No Problem

October 27, 2017 — It’s been a reliable trope about type 2 diabetes for a long time. Supposedly, as much as a third of it goes undiagnosed. But a closer look says that finding more diagnoses of type 2 diabetes isn’t much of a problem any more. In Annals of Internal Medicine, Elizabeth Selvin and colleagues published a careful […]

The Annoying Distraction of “Evil” Beverage Companies

October 26, 2017 — Coke has a new CEO and a new corporate strategy that seems like it’s starting to work. You can find the essence of it in Coke’s new image advertising. Maybe the company that taught the world to sing is starting to shed some of the reputation issues that have dogged it for years now. A […]

Ten Things Not to Miss at ObesityWeek 2017

October 25, 2017 — The excitement is rising. The world’s top obesity researchers, clinicians, and policymakers will soon be arriving in Washington’s National Harbor for ObesityWeek 2017. If you’re going to be there, you better plan ahead. this year, the meeting will have twice as much basic science, twice as much health policy, and three times as many late-breaking […]

Prevention That Sounds Too Good to Be True

October 24, 2017 — It’s an easy trap. Prevention is a cherished goal for childhood obesity. Behavioral economics has such a strong cachet that it just earned Richard Thaler a Nobel Prize. So when elegant research that says little nudges – like a sticker on a piece of fruit – can lead children to make better food choices, we want to […]

A New Protein with Promising Effect for Obesity

October 23, 2017 — It’s early days for this new protein, but worth noting, nonetheless. Amgen scientists have successfully demonstrated that they can modify a GDF15 protein to treat obesity in mice, rats, and primates. With animal data published in Science Translational Medicine, they show an impressive effect on body weight in mice and monkeys. Acting on the Gut […]

Had Enough: Inconclusive Obesity Paradox Publications

October 22, 2017 — “More research is needed.” We find those immortal words at the end of a large percentage of research papers. But Anna Peeters is calling for just the opposite. In the International Journal of Obesity (IJO), she says we’ve had enough of inconclusive obesity paradox publications. How Much Health Risk Does Obesity Cause? Simply asking this […]