Archive for January, 2021

Equity and Misinformation on COVID Vaccination

January 31, 2021 — Let’s face it. At the moment, COVID vaccination is a mess. Anti-vaxxers briefly shut down a vaccination site at Dodgers Stadium yesterday. “Save your soul, turn back now,” said their placards. Nonetheless, millions are desperate to get the vaccine. But demand vastly outstrips supply for now. So disparities are popping up as people with power, […]

Data Thugs, Pajamas, and Ultra-Processed Food

January 30, 2021 — Nevermind. As far as we can tell, that’s the bottom line on a convoluted story about data thugs, pajamas, and a provocative study of ultra-processed food. It starts with the study by Kevin Hall et al that found ultra-processed food can cause people to eat more and gain weight. All by itself, that finding was […]

When Is the Best Time for Exercise?

January 29, 2021 — Writing for the New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds purports to tell us the best time of day for exercise. Except that she doesn’t. Instead, she describes a study that is too small and too flawed to support the claims its authors make in Physiological Reports. And finally, buried at the end of her article, she […]

Presuming What Is Healthy Based on Appearance

January 28, 2021 — Media images of good health are a tricky business. On one hand, fashion and lifestyle businesses are feeling pressure to include more diversity in the imagery they blast at us. But when they do, guardians of public health protest. So we have debates about what is healthy to show people in Cosmopolitan. Or the health […]

Blaming Obesity for Britain’s COVID Deaths

January 27, 2021 — “It’s hard to compute the sorrow contained in that grim statistic,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The UK became the smallest country in the world yesterday to surpass 100,000 deaths due to COVID-19. Not surprisingly, the conversation turned to a simple question. Why? Ever ready with a fat-phobic quip, Piers Morgan seemed eager to […]

Bimagrumab: Hesitancy and Promise in Obesity Care

January 26, 2021 — Innovation in obesity care has come a long way. Back in 2010, Sanofi was smarting from the spectacular failure of rimonabant and big pharma was closing down research programs in obesity. But Novo Nordisk forged ahead with an ambitious program and now has a successful portfolio in obesity care to show for it. Nonetheless, we […]

Casual Misinformation on COVID Vaccines and Obesity

January 25, 2021 — This has become annoying. Casual misinformation about COVID vaccines is spreading through otherwise reputable news sources. “Experts” who haven’t bothered to look at the data are helping. Perhaps it comes from innocent ignorance. Or maybe from unconscious bias. But that really doesn’t matter. It is flatly wrong to keep reporting that COVID vaccines won’t work […]

Taking a Bite Out of Ultra-Processed Foods

January 24, 2021 — Ultra-processed foods seem to be a problem for human health. For one thing, the link between consuming them and bad health outcomes seems strong. We have a steady stream of new studies to confirm this. For another, we have some pretty compelling experimental evidence from well-controlled studies to tell us that there may be a […]

Compelling Outcomes in Metabolic Surgery Over Time

January 23, 2021 — Time ticks by. Millions of people live with obesity and its complications. Meanwhile, a steady stream of new studies offers compelling data on metabolic surgery outcomes. This week, it was a ten-year study in Lancet. This study provides the first data for an RCT of surgery versus medical therapy for type 2 diabetes beyond five […]

Does This New Study Mean Keto Is Losing Its Luster?

January 22, 2021 — When it comes to dietary patterns, one size doesn’t fit all. But when it comes to magical diet thinking, the masses wish for something different. The wish is for a “best” diet – something that will let me lose weight without feeling hungry. For several years now, pop culture assigned that magic to keto diets. […]