Archive for May, 2022

Tirzepatide Pricing Comes in Similar to Semaglutide

May 21, 2022 — Competition can be a great thing. In the past few weeks we’ve been hearing a lot about tirzepatide. The FDA just approved it for treating type 2 diabetes, hailing it as an important advance. Tirzepatide for obesity is a couple of years away, but the initial results of pivotal studies have been extremely impressive. So […]

No, You’re Not Entitled to Your Opinion

May 20, 2022 — Authored by Patrick Stokes, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Deakin University Every year, I try to do at least two things with my students at least once. Firstly, I make a point of addressing them as “philosophers” – a bit cheesy, but hopefully it encourages active learning. Secondly, I say something like this: “I’m sure you’ve […]

A Suggestion That Diets for the Environment Are Rising

May 19, 2022 — It’s always interesting to see what surfaces in the annual Food Insight survey on food and health. The latest edition came out yesterday. For years now, the whole idea of following diets has been at a low ebb. Diets were supposed to be dead and buried years ago. Anti-diet dietitians are still dancing on that […]

How BMI Can Miss Unhealthy Fat in the Liver

May 18, 2022 — One of the important complications of obesity is NAFLD – non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Quite simply, this is a condition where unhealthy fat accumulates in the liver. It leads to inflammation and fibrosis, progressing to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure in severe cases. Often, it goes undetected until these more severe problems emerge. Because […]

British Obesity Strategy Goes Into a Tailspin

May 17, 2022 — The British strategy to reverse trends in the health effects of obesity is “falling apart.” So says the distinguished obesity expert Jamie Oliver. He’s a chef, a celebrity, and thus an authority on the complex mix of biological, social, and political science that defines the public health struggle with obesity. But despite his wishes to […]

An Aspirational Agenda to Curb Food Industry Excesses

May 16, 2022 — ConscienHealth enjoys the good fortune of attracting readers who might disagree with some of the words we share here. So yesterday, when we suggested that food policy wonks might be “giving ‘big food’ a free pass,” it was not entirely surprising to hear from a notable persona in food policy – Marion Nestle. Ever so […]

Are Food Policy Wonks Giving “Big Food” a Free Pass?

May 15, 2022 — Ten years ago, PLOS Medicine published an examination of the role of “Big Food” in global health with a collection of articles. It was an indictment, to be sure, and this theme continues to resonate today. PLOS Medicine editors summed it up: “Big multinational food companies control what people everywhere eat, resulting in a stark […]

FDA Approves “An Important Advance,” Tirzepatide

May 14, 2022 — Yesterday, FDA approved tirzepatide for type 2 diabetes, calling it “an important advance.” The brand name will be Mounjaro. This is the same drug for which its maker, Eli Lilly and Company, announced remarkable results in a phase 3 obesity study barely two weeks ago. It is the first of its kind – a dual […]

Be Cause: The Mighty Struggle to Discern Causality

May 13, 2022 — What is going on here? Why is this happening? What is the cause? The struggle to discern causality bedevils anyone who is serious about understanding obesity and how to overcome it. But the line between cause and effect can be very blurry, and fuzzy thinking ensues. And thus, the progress toward reversing the relentless increase […]

Why Is Semaglutide More Expensive for Obesity?

May 12, 2022 — Somehow this doesn’t seem right. The list price for for a month’s supply of semaglutide when it’s for diabetes is $892. No matter whether you need a dose of 1 mg, or the new high dose of 2 mg, the price is the same. It goes under the brand name of Ozempic and comes from […]