News Archive for October, 2022

One of the themes you will hear when ObesityWeek gets underway tomorrow in San Diego is the dramatic progress that’s coming into view with new obesity drugs. But the picture quickly becomes murky in the real world because of issues with supply and access to these new and improved obesity meds. The access to care […]

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This 19th-century Welsh aphorism is a few steps behind the current zeal for medicalizing food. Food is medicine advocates are eager to see doctors prescribe produce, medically tailored groceries, or meals. It’s a big-tent concept that feels a little bit like a faith healing revival. Certainly, nutrition […]

We totally understand. ObesityWeek is coming up in San Diego and it’s a little overwhelming. For lots of us, this will be the first time in quite a while to connect with colleagues who share a hunger for insights into the complex chronic disease of obesity. Plus, a lot is happening in the field. Both […]

Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan is struggling. On one hand, he knows shaming people with obesity is clearly wrong. But while he rejects outright shame for people with obesity, he’s struggling with with the idea of acceptance. He decided to talk about this because he was watching the Emmy Awards and Lizzo came on. “For those […]

Most of us who think about food systems have a vague sense that our diet has a meaningful impact on the health of the planet. Beef is typically thought to be a bad actor. Eating more plant based foods should help. But an ambitious new study in Nature Sustainability aims to assign specific numbers to […]

At the intersection of Halloween, inflation, and righteous demands to bring portion sizes under control, candy is shrinking this year. Candy prices are way up, with an average increase of 13 percent versus last year according to the U.S. Department of Labor. At the same time, candy makers are shrinking package sizes – both the […]

The world works in mysterious ways. Five years ago, a group of us that included ConscienHealth’s Ted Kyle went to Harrisburg to testify in favor of Pennsylvania taking a step toward less disparity in obesity care. Specifically, we were supporting a bill that State Representative Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion) was sponsoring to encourage coverage of obesity […]

On Friday, ASMBS and IFSO announced new clinical guidelines for obesity surgery – the first update to guidelines in more than 30 years. Way back in 1991, NIH published a consensus statement that established bariatric surgery as a safe and effective option for treating severe obesity. Needless to say, we’ve learned a lot about metabolic […]

“Prevention is better than cure. We don’t even want people to gain excess weight. We want to have a food system in which people can eat healthily and not become fat.” This assertion came at the end of three days of an outstanding program for presenting and discussing theories, conjectures, and evidence about the causes […]

Perhaps the most basic question behind this week’s extraordinary meeting at the Royal Society is how did we wind up with so much obesity? John Speakman addressed this on the final day, explaining that the thrifty genotype hypothesis has been popular ever since James Neel proposed it 60 years ago. But it turns out that […]