News Archive for April, 2019

You might think that childhood obesity is a subject that draws a lot of sympathy from the public. You would be wrong. Today at the 26th European Congress on Obesity, we presented new data on a huge gap in the public understanding of severe obesity in young children. Even in young children, our data shows […]

Killer traffic. It’s a hyperbolic complaint. Or then again, maybe not. Consider these two factoids. One, the WHO tells us that road accidents are now the biggest killers of young people around the world. And two, new research presented at the 26th European Congress on Obesity tells us that the risk of death is a […]

On what planet is this a problem? Yet again, we have people promoting that too few children are being judged with having obesity. In a review and meta-analysis for ECO 2019, Abrar Alshahrani describes the problem: Parents commonly describe their children in terms other than obese, such as big boned, thick, and solid. They demonstrated […]

For reasons we cannot fathom, Jay Leno decided to deliver a rant about “this disturbing trend of gluttony” that he supposes is the root cause of obesity. Thanks, Jay. But you’re not helping. Food marketers might be pushing a lot of disgusting “innovations,” but gluttony is not the root cause of obesity. And rants about […]

Ask any attorney. Safe is a four-letter word. So in light of data that raises some good questions about the risks of a very common food additive – propionate – how should we respond? Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health have found evidence to suggest propionate may alter our metabolism and lead to […]

At the sixth Canadian Obesity Summit on Wednesday, three of Canada’s top experts on weight bias presented diverse views on taking action against weight bias. The focus ranged from reducing bias in new healthcare providers to internalized bias and health at every size. Though these experts brought diverse perspectives, they shared a common focus. Reducing […]

The opening of the Sixth Canadian Obesity Summit was a bit of a homecoming for Kevin Hall. It was his first visit to Ottawa in about three decades and Obesity Canada rewarded him with its Distinguished Lecturer Award. He used the occasion to review the evidence behind the diet wars wars that rage on Twitter. […]

Want your Cheerios with extra protein? You got it! No time for a bowl of cereal? Chug down a bottle of STōK Protein Cold Brew Coffee. You can get a jolt of caffeine along with 20 grams or so of protein. Pop nutrition has made people wary of fats. It tells us that sugar and […]

For the first time, we have evidence that treating obesity might reduce the risk of breast cancer, even in women before menopause. The research, published in the Annals of Surgery, finds a lower risk of breast cancer in women with severe obesity before and after menopause if they have bariatric surgery. Other studies have shown […]

Have Dietary Guidelines for Americans gone seriously awry? In a newly published doctoral thesis, Adele Hite suggests they have. As an RDN and a scholar of how public health and policy makers frame issues of nutrition, she brings a unique perspective. The definition of a healthy diet has shifted subtly, but profoundly. No longer is […]