April 20, 2022 — Every year in the U.S., surgeons perform about 800,000 knee replacements. By comparison, fewer than half as many – less than 300,000 – bariatric surgeries occur each year. Especially in younger patients needing knee replacement, obesity is quite common. In one study, 72 percent of knee replacement patients under 60 had obesity. So it’s quite […]
April 19, 2022 — The problem with doing things to prolong your life is that all the extra years come at the end, when you’re old. Bob Mankoff captured this fundamental quandary in a New Yorker cartoon years ago. But the problem of managing health and risks remains on our minds nonetheless. So a new study in JAMA Network […]
April 18, 2022 — New data keeps documenting the safety, health, and quality of life benefits from bariatric surgery for teens who need it. But only a tiny number of the 4.5 million young people with severe obesity receive this procedure. So what are the daunting barriers that stand in the way? A new qualitative study in SOARD offers […]
April 17, 2022 — Obesity is a slur. This statement framed the opening to a recent symposium at the UC Berkeley School of Public health. The subject was weight inclusive public health. The goal was dialogue to address systemic anti-fatness and racism embedded in public health, medicine, and the food system. It’s a lot. On one hand a caricature of […]
April 16, 2022 — Yesterday, the USDA opened up the process for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They invited us all to comment on the questions they will pose to a scientific advisory committee. Then they’ll appoint that committee and put it to work on producing a report. The report goes into the sausage grinder of policy making. […]
April 15, 2022 — The drumbeat is growing louder. “Ultra-processed foods are trashing our health – and the planet,” say four nutrition scientists from Deakin University. It would be hard to find a clearer definition of these products as our enemy. Yet another set of distinguished nutrition scientists argue that ultra-processed alternatives to meat and dairy can offer valuable […]
April 14, 2022 — So much attention goes into obesity for children and young persons that one might wonder if it’s much of a concern for older adults. A new study in BMC Geriatrics offers good insight. Mild and moderate obesity might not have much of an effect on a older person’s lifespan, though severe obesity does. But regardless […]
April 13, 2022 — In his last 15 years of medical practice, Mark Landon has seen a doubling in cases of gestational diabetes. Landon is the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. Research published in JAMA tells us that this is not an isolated phenomenon in Ohio. In fact, between 2011 and […]
April 12, 2022 — Your health is in your hands. With these words, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky captures the essence of flawed thinking about public health. These words also capture the pervasive bias that gets in the way of coping well with both the COVID-19 pandemic and with obesity. This is the presumption that personal responsibility will take care […]
April 10, 2022 — Two years ago, 69 percent of Americans believed what the CDC had to say. Now, that number is 44 percent. After seven decades, CDC sat atop a pyramid of influence in public health. But today, top-down public health decrees meet with skepticism as often as with trust. We are living in an era when distrust […]
