Archive for November, 2019

Fighting for the Moral High Ground of Nutrition

November 30, 2019 — Human history is full of bloody conflicts to claim moral high ground. The Thirty Years’ War pitted the Holy Roman Empire against Protestant states. But we can find nothing holy in the carnage that resulted. Now we wage our wars on twitter. And true believers go at it to claim the moral high ground of […]

Sizzling Headlines About Brain Damage

November 29, 2019 — The PR team at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) hit a home run this week. They were playing in the ongoing contest to create the most misinformative but sizzling headlines about scientific research. Their winning headline was doozy: MRI reveals brain damage in obese teens. Of course, that misleading press release was only […]

Was Your Turkey Fed Vegetarians?

November 28, 2019 — Today, roughly 88 percent of Americans will be eating a turkey. That means 46 million turkeys consumed. But we have a burning question. What does vegetarian fed mean? Was your turkey fed vegetarians? Fed by vegetarians? Or maybe, contrary to its omnivorian nature, fed a vegetarian diet? Vegetarian Fed Left to their own devices – […]

Obesity, Despair, and Mortality in the U.S.

November 27, 2019 — We’ve only just begun. That was once a hopeful refrain. But now, it applies to a worrisome trend. Working age people in the U.S. are dying at rates that are unprecedented among wealthy countries. This finding comes from a stunning, comprehensive study of a reversal in U.S. life expectancy. Because it’s now in its third […]

Is Public Health Only for Thin People?

November 26, 2019 — Let’s be clear. Anti-fat bias is everywhere we turn. It’s less explicit these days. But implicit anti-fat bias is stronger than ever. And you can find it in people who are thin and people who are not. There’s actually research on that. However, that same research tells us that thinner people tend to have stronger […]

Elusive Obesity Culprits: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

November 25, 2019 — The assumption is everywhere. Obesity is simply the result of “eating too much and moving too little…poor diet and lifestyle choices.” So says the UK’s National Health Service. But in fact, it’s not so simple. And it’s worth considering the impact of drugs and other chemicals that nudge us to a higher weight. These are […]

The Blame Game: Nature, Nurture, and Obesity

November 24, 2019 — Who dunnit? That was the essence of the debate between Sadaf Farooqi and John Wilding at the Society for Endocrinology BES Conference in Brighton, UK. Some very smart people have a tough time wrapping their brains around nature, nurture, and obesity. So Farooqi and Wilding took opposite sides of a simple proposition: This house believes […]

Sleep More, Weigh Less? Actually, Probably, Yes

November 23, 2019 — Sleep, stress, and obesity are clearly related. But the relationship is complicated and causality is tough to unravel. Stress interferes with sleep. So does obesity. And then, too, both stress and too little sleep can contribute to obesity. So if you sleep more, will you weight less? A natural experiment in Korea tells us for […]

Better Life and Health for Teens After Bariatric Surgery

November 22, 2019 — New data this week adds to our view of life and health for teens after bariatric surgery. Both are better for most of them after bariatric surgery. This week’s data deals with quality of life, pain, physical function, and kidney function. Two new studies document important benefits from the surgery. One other study offers an […]

My Story, A Dietitian’s Story of Obesity

November 21, 2019 — I’ve had obesity since early childhood. This is my story of living with it. In my immigrant Italian family, chubby children were considered “healthy,” a sign of “making it.” I was lovingly, but, unwittingly, overfed. Up until my early 20s, nothing worked to control my dietary intake or for lasting fat loss. I knew back […]