February 18, 2018 — It’s a perennial argument. How come we keep letting people in SNAP use it to buy junk food? And every time the answer that comes back is pragmatic. It would be an expensive, bureaucratic nightmare to police junk food in SNAP. But the argument just won’t stop. A new study and new policy proposals promise […]
February 17, 2018 — It’s hard to know what to think about this week’s proposal for sweeping changes in SNAP from the White House. Once known as food stamps, SNAP is the cornerstone program for fighting food insecurity. Under this proposal, a Harvest Box of processed food would replace half of the food that SNAP recipients can presently choose […]
February 16, 2018 — It’s the stuff of legend. Big sugar orchestrated a vast sugar conspiracy half a century ago. The industry foisted decades of flawed low-fat dietary guidance upon our nation – indeed all around the world. The theory holds that big sugar was out to blame fat for all our health woes. That was so that no […]
February 15, 2018 — It’s odd when you think about it. Roughly 40 percent of Americans are living with obesity, but only about two million of them ever get any real medical care for it. We don’t mean bogus diets or advice from Aunt Sara. We mean real, evidence-based obesity care that can improve a person’s health and life. […]
February 14, 2018 — The headlines say the benefits of exercise can outweigh the health effects of severe obesity. The study says no such thing. The study examined fitness, not exercise. It showed that fitness might benefit even people with severe obesity, not that it cancels out obesity’s risks. But what will most people remember? The headline. A new […]
February 13, 2018 — An unfounded stigma surrounds weight loss surgery. This prejudice has its primary roots in forgivable ignorance about the reality of a body’s resistance to weight loss. A widespread view is that obesity is a chosen way of life, not an actual disease. The Pattern of a Disease The World Obesity Federation recently published a statement […]
February 12, 2018 — It’s hard to miss. Some elements of food policy seem to be telling the world what people oughta wanna eat. And the subtext of that message is the idea that people who aren’t listening are eating junk food. You are what you eat. Junk people eat junk food. Healthy people eat healthy food. A new […]
February 11, 2018 — Social media gives power to intense emotions. And if you want to sample intense emotions, tune into a conversation between fat acceptance advocates and Weight Watchers. Well, calling it a conversation is probably inaccurate. It’s more of a one-sided torrent of anger. And it’s all about outreach to teens. Sparked by a Press Release Last […]
February 10, 2018 — We’re having a tough time dealing with obesity. Progress is uneven. Prevalence is still rising. The National Academies Roundtable on Obesity Solutions spent a good chunk of this week talking it over. At the end of two days, Chairman Bill Purcell offered a tidy framework for thinking about three hurdles for actually dealing with the […]
February 9, 2018 — Look out, folks. Congress has some common sense nutrition disclosure coming your way. While House members waited for a budget agreement from the Senate this week, they needed something to do. So they passed the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act and sent it on to the Senate. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, sponsor of the bill, hailed […]
