Archive for September, 2019

The Rise and Fall of the Juice Boxes

September 20, 2019 — It’s official. Juice is out – at least for kids under five. According to just about every relevant professional organization, kids don’t need anything but milk and water to drink. And for that matter, they should be skipping the chocolate milk and other sweetened milks. Juice and sweet drinks will rot their teeth and just […]

What Works for Obesity, if Not Shaming?

September 19, 2019 — Popular culture is having a moment. All the talk about fat shaming that started two weeks ago is still echoing through the media – supporting a clear view that explicit weight bias is a bad thing. Apparently some people really did think that shaming people might be a tool for making them healthier. So the […]

Positive Action for Access to Care

September 18, 2019 — Make no mistake about it. National Obesity Care week is all about speaking out for better access to care for obesity. ConscienHealth is proud to be among 50 champions supporting National Obesity Care Week. We believe that everyone should have access to obesity care. A person’s size, weight, or economic status should not limit their […]

Immersed in Mixed Messages on Obesity

September 17, 2019 — At the National Academies yesterday, we found ourselves immersed in mixed messages on obesity. The occasion was a public workshop on effective communications strategies for obesity. OCEANS President Faith Newsome summed it up for us: I left with a lot of questions, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We talk about “solutions” and promote “healthy” […]

Chicken and Egg: Obesity Care Providers and Patients

September 16, 2019 — The challenge of access to care is matching up providers with people who need and want care. We’re making progress. More obesity care providers are stepping up to provide care. But a new analysis published in Obesity describes a big mismatch between needs and resources. This is National Obesity Care Week and the focus is […]

James Corden: A Clear Rejection of Bullying

September 15, 2019 — In response to Bill Maher’s suggestion for more fat shaming, James Corden has a simple message. “Let’s be honest, fat-shaming is just bullying and bullying only makes the problem worse.” Opening the Floodgates Corden opened the floodgates with his 8-minute response to Maher. Already, his clip has more than a million views on YouTube – […]

My Story of Living with Obesity

September 14, 2019 — I want to share my story of living with obesity. I have been overweight since long before I can even remember. When I look back at family photos of me as toddler, I see a little round faced girl in jeans with the legs rolled up to fit because my mom had to buy them […]

Obesity, Cluelessness, and Shamefulness

September 13, 2019 — Listen up folks. A donut is not the way to tell the world about the state of obesity in the United States. Nope, not at all. Donuts do not lie at the root of the problem. Neither do french fries. But cluelessness drives people to reduce the complex problem of obesity into a simplistic infographic […]

Patterns of Obesity-Related Cancers Shifting Younger

September 12, 2019 — Yet another study tells us that obesity may be re-shaping the patterns of cancer. Writing in JAMA Network Open, scientists from Case Western Reserve University tell us that obesity-related cancers are shifting into younger people. Like obesity, cancer is a chronic disease. So a shift into younger persons means more health costs and more suffering […]

Does Shortness Bring a Risk for Type 2 Diabetes?

September 11, 2019 — A new study in Diabetologia tells us that shortness may heighten a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes. Over seven years, researchers observed a higher risk for type 2 diabetes among shorter people in a cohort of 2,500 individuals. Age, lifestyle, education, and waist circumference didn’t explain it. Even after accounting for those factors, the […]