Archive for June, 2019

Obesity: A Disease and a Debate for Pets, Too

June 30, 2019 — Obesity is quite a problem for pets as well as humans, so a growing number of veterinary medicine organizations are developing guidance on the subject. Around the world, 25 international medical veterinary organizations have endorsed the position of the Global Pet Obesity Initiative. In short, veterinarians around the world are recognizing that obesity is a […]

Academic Collaborators of Food and Beverage Marketers

June 29, 2019 — Food and beverage marketers have one very clear mission. Encourage people to drink and eat more. Thus, they innovate, they formulate, and they communicate. And it all advances a singular purpose – sell more. Superfood, healthy food, food fads – they’re all part of the marketing machine. More than ever, that machine relies on academic […]

Fighting Obesity with Coffee and Headlines

June 28, 2019 — It’s all so simple. We can fight obesity with a single cup of coffee! It’s a “fat-burning, obesity-fighting beverage.” So say the headlines about a study of brown fat activation with caffeine. This new study in Scientific Reports, hyped by a press release from the University of Nottingham, has unleashed a flood of sensational headlines […]

The Urgent Need for Fresh Thinking on Childhood Obesity

June 27, 2019 — Two major research programs spanning two decades for reducing childhood obesity have yielded null results. Altogether, none of five separate studies from these two programs have shown an effect. No effect on obesity. No effect on related health outcomes, either. These studies are important because they target populations where obesity is most severe – low-income […]

Keep Your Eye on the Evidence to Emotion Ratio

June 26, 2019 — Risk-benefit ratio is a term of art that most anyone in healthcare will know. It answers a very basic question. Does this thing offer more benefits than risks? The thing might be a drug, it might be a device, or it might be an operation. But what about some of the beliefs that drive health […]

Setting a Higher Bar for Obesity Care

June 25, 2019 — Until recently, the bar has been very low for obesity care in most of healthcare. “Instruct the patient to lose weight” is the most common guidance. However, three new publications in Obesity make it clear how much that’s changing. It’s clear that healthcare is setting a higher bar for obesity care. A Proposed Standard for […]

Cherry Picking Childhood Obesity in Leeds

June 24, 2019 — Late in April, folks in Leeds created a bit of a stir. They told the world they had achieved a “notable decrease” in childhood obesity. Better yet, some of the biggest gains were among the most disadvantaged children entering primary school. Headlines endorsed the program deployed in Leeds. But now, two months later, skeptics are […]

A Lifetime of Medical Neglect

June 23, 2019 — Obesity presents many problems. But two of them rise to the top: access to care and bias. Yesterday, at the Harvard Blackburn obesity course, Caroline Apovian reminded us why. Too often, people with obesity endure a lifetime of derision and medical neglect. With facts and case histories, she painted a searing picture of the suffering […]

Glaring Disparities in Obesity Effects, Care, and Policy

June 22, 2019 — Disparities are everywhere you look in healthcare. But they’re especially glaring if you take a moment to look at effects, healthcare, and policies related to obesity. Speaking at the Harvard Blackburn Obesity Course in Boston yesterday, Fatima Cody Stanford explained: Excess weight in racial and ethnic minorities is not just a cultural phenomenon. Research points […]

Exercising Power Over People with Obesity

June 21, 2019 — It’s easy to lose sight of power dynamics in obesity. “Instruct the patient to lose weight.” For years, that was the standard prescription for dealing with obesity in primary care. It is worse than useless advice. People with obesity dread hearing a condescending lecture from health providers. That’s because power dynamics matter. We live in […]