October 31, 2018 — Getting a handle on the real world effectiveness of any medical treatment is devilishly hard. For surgery, it’s even harder. Randomized controlled trials are not impossible, but almost. And many variables come into play that can cause big swings in effectiveness. That list starts with surgical skill and the quality of a program. And it […]
October 30, 2018 — Tech has a very mixed track record in obesity care. Diet apps were early hits. Fitness trackers have a loyal following. The apps are free and the trackers have a lot of gee whiz pizazz. What’s not to like? Unfortunately, proving that they lead to better health outcomes has been tough. But now, in the […]
October 29, 2018 — Would it surprise you to find that only four in a thousand children with leukemia have access to comprehensive cancer care? Of course it would. A total of 98 pediatric cancer centers show up on the U.S. News list of the best hospitals for pediatric cancer. But the story is very different for youth with […]
October 28, 2018 — Has a big butter bias bitten the BMJ on the backside? Roughly 180 academics from all over the world have signed an open letter to the BMJ. They’re asking for better editorial rigor at one of the BMJ journals – The British Journal of Sports Medicine. What prompted this? A series of articles seeming to promote a pro-butter […]
October 27, 2018 — Faced with an inescapable choice, who will live and who will die? That’s the question that researchers put to a massive global sample. It was a hypothetical question prompted by self-driving vehicles. Should the vehicle swerve to avoid hitting a large group of people? Even if it means certain death for a smaller group? Should […]
October 26, 2018 — At the age of 2, it’s not especially obvious if a child will have obesity later in life. But a new study, published in mBio, suggests that the microbes in a child’s gut at age 2 might offer some pretty good clues. Microbiota Explaining More Than Half of BMI Scores Maggie Stanislawski and colleagues analyzed data […]
October 25, 2018 — Yesterday, we had an unusual opportunity. We spent the day with a diverse collection of animal scientists – experts in behavior, health, nutrition, and even obesity. One thing was most clear. Pets and humans are on parallel paths for health. And in fact, the parallels in human and pet obesity are quite striking. Can We Talk? […]
October 24, 2018 — Dieting has a bad reputation these days. In popular culture, the concept has lots of detractors. Instead of “going on a diet,” it’s more fashionable to say, “I’m eating healthy.” The reasons for this shift in attitudes are many. For one thing, a sustainable, healthy pattern of eating seems to be a better way to […]
October 23, 2018 — Yesterday at FNCE, dietitians witnessed an event with a split personality. Was it a debate? Or was it a conversation? The title said it was both – a debate and a conversation on weight management and Health at Every Size®. (People in the HAES movement want you to know, that’s their trademark.) Whatever it was, […]
October 22, 2018 — FNCE served up a little nutrition epistemology in Washington yesterday. How? John Trepanowski and Steve Anton explored the promise and the puffery of intermittent fasting. RDN Carolyn O’Neil moderated. They explained some solid science. But they exposed some appalling hype. What do we really know to be true? Versus what is mere speculation or opinion. […]
