News Archive for November, 2017

Facts are stubborn. And today, one of the stubborn facts of obesity is a bit more clear. Prevention alone is not enough. Late yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine, some leading advocates for childhood obesity prevention wrote: A narrow focus solely on preventing childhood obesity will not avert potential future health damage that may be induced by […]

Inexplicably, the folks who have been selling us Chock Full o’Nuts coffee for roughly 80 years have decided to fess up. Their coffee is not chock full of nuts. In fact, it has no nuts whatsoever. The new packaging says so. Boldly. Right on the label. Clearing Up Confusion Chock Full o’Nuts is a New York […]

When most people think about obesity, the only complication they think of is type 2 diabetes. Quite a few people (but not a majority) think of heart disease. But few people think about liver disease. Unfortunately, Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can be one of the most serious complications a person with obesity will face. NASH is […]

Big food is having a little crack-up. That iconic lobbying group for the food industry – the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) – just lost the world’s biggest food company. Nestlé will drop its membership by the end of the year. This follows shortly after Campbell left the group this summer. Responding to Consumer Pressure When […]

Scanning the latest hyperbolic headlines on obesity research, we’re left with just one question. Does Cinnabon have a cure for obesity? It’s really quite amazing. The Tech Times tells us “Cinnamon Could be the Secret Ingredient to Weight Loss.” USA Today says “Cinnamon May Help Attack Fat, Fight Obesity.” So maybe all that Cinnabon smell […]

Jean Twenge and her colleagues have a pretty dire story to tell you. It’s all about the toxic effects of screen time on our youth: In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large […]

Novo Nordisk is feeling bold. The company has long been a leader in diabetes care. But now, it aims to create obesity drugs that will match the effectiveness of bariatric surgery. CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told investors this week: We are making a bet on obesity, and we believe we can ride it based on lifting […]

We can’t ignore it. The Scarlet S – shame – is everywhere in the news. And it’s a coin with two sides. On one side of this coin, the Scarlet S is riding high. Women are shaming awful men who assaulted, abused, and harassed them. And everyone is hoping for a turning point toward a more just […]

We have a long climb ahead of us. A new study published in the International Journal of Obesity this week makes it clear. Health plans still are not taking obesity care seriously. A careful analysis of coverage for obesity drugs documents what we’ve known for some time. Coverage is spotty at best. Health plans seem […]

Thanksgiving might be the ideal holiday for our times. Everyone gathers and gives thanks to whomever for whatever however it moves them. And then we enjoy a meal. Together. Perfect, except for maybe one thing – food stress. Moralizing About Food Writing in the New York Times, pediatrician Aaron Carroll tells us that “when we moralize […]