Archive for July, 2019

Fruits and Veggies, Talk and Reality

July 21, 2019 — What if we could snap our fingers and have everyone start eating all the fruits and veggies that the World Health Organization recommends? We would simply run out. Demand would outstrip supply by anywhere from 90 to 128 percent. Production capacity is too low. Food waste is too high. So there’s a big gap between […]

Is Awareness of Excess Weight a Problem?

July 20, 2019 — Are we all sufficiently aware of our weight? Many answers might come to mind for such a broad question. Health professionals offer honest accounts of patients with severe obesity and no idea that it might have an effect on their health. Patients tell of health professionals who suggest all their symptoms are due to obesity […]

New Evidence for Restricting Calories, But . . .

July 19, 2019 — Cutting as few as 300 calories from the daily diet might offer significant health benefits –  even for people with a BMI in the normal or only mildly overweight range. That’s the primary finding of a new 2-year RCT in Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. Is this groundbreaking research? Or, is restricting calories an impractical option […]

More Teens Trying to Lose Weight, Mostly DIY

July 18, 2019 — The number of U.S. adults actively trying to lose weight peaked in 2004 at 62 percent. Ever since, that number’s been dropping. In 2018, according to Gallup, it was down to 54 percent. But the trend for teens is headed in the opposite direction. In 2010, between 16 and 19 years of age, 24 percent […]

Hype About Keto Diets? Say It Ain’t So!

July 17, 2019 — Please don’t tell the keto cult. They’ll be all over us with compelling anecdotes. But it seems that we may be nearing the peak of ketogenic diet hype. Writing in JAMA Internal Medicine this week, Shivam Joshi,  Robert Ostfeld, and Michelle McMacken tell us: Although the ketogenic diet has garnered much attention for the dietary […]

Let Me Explain Weight Stigma

July 16, 2019 — Two weeks ago, Cancer Research UK blanketed the United Kingdom with billboards to proclaim that having obesity is like smoking. We and more than 12,000 petitioners have voiced strong concern that this misguided campaign will serve only to promote weight stigma, not health. Because CRUK has thus far not granted that promoting stigma might be […]

Separating Self-Stigma from Self-Care

July 15, 2019 — New research from Rebecca Pearl and colleagues on self-stigma raises important questions for self-care. In obesity, self-care is the most common approach. “I ought to be able to do this myself” is a common thought we hear. WW (formerly Weight Watchers) has many millions of members. Diet, exercise, and weight loss books top the charts […]

Will “Functional Food” Replace Candy Bars?

July 14, 2019 — Who needs candy bars anymore? Boomers are too old for them. Millennials and Gen Z are woke to the poison that is sugar. So “functional” snacks are a thing. No wonder the folks who make M&Ms, Snickers, and Twix are buying into a functional food business called Foodspring. They’re ready to sell you yummy protein […]

2020 Guidelines: A Plant-Based, Low-Carb Ruckus

July 13, 2019 — The USDA opened up the process for developing the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for inspection and input this week. It was the second of five public meetings. Also, it was the first of two chances for the public to deliver live comments to the committee. The committee seems to be taking its task for the 2020 […]

Job Discrimination for Obesity Ruled Illegal

July 12, 2019 — Late yesterday, we received a jolt of good news. The Supreme Court for the State of Washington ruled that employers cannot discriminate against qualified job candidates on account of obesity. That’s right. We now have one more state where job discrimination on account of obesity is illegal. Job Offer Revoked Because of Six Pounds Twelve […]