July 21, 2024 — Richard Simmons died last week at the age of 76 after a lifetime of making people smile and never letting the perfect be an enemy of the good. Fat Youth with Curly Hair Simmons had a distinctive body image from an early age. He was a heavy child at the age of four and knew […]
July 20, 2024 — In a perverse way, policies to address obesity have been effective in the U.S. But only for specific communities. As the recognition of obesity as a threat to public health has grown, some communities have grown more resistant to it. Others have not and disparities in obesity have grown steadily – between rural and urban, […]
July 19, 2024 — “If we were just to get a fraction [of potential members] to engage in the way that we do things differently with GLP-1s – it’s an insane opportunity for the company.” These words come from the Life Time chain of fitness clubs about the “Miora” wellness clinics they are now putting inside their facilities. It […]
July 18, 2024 — The excitement of the moment we are in for obesity care can make it hard to step back and take a long view. But a new study in the International Journal of Obesity offers a good reminder about the importance of doing just that. Hanna Konttinen and colleagues offer us a good, objective view of […]
July 17, 2024 — The Nutrition Facts label, that black and white information box found on nearly every packaged food product in the U.S. since 1994, has recently become an icon for consumer transparency. From Apple’s “Privacy Nutrition Labels” that disclose how smartphone apps handle user data, to a “Garment Facts” label that standardizes ethical disclosures on clothing, policy […]
July 16, 2024 — Looking for some naturally fast food? Minimally processed, but exquisitely prepared? Delicious, but not hyper-palatable? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration would like to help. According to Stat News, the agency is looking hard for ways to regulate ultra-processed food. It leaves us wondering if ultra-processed food can cause people to lose their minds. It […]
July 15, 2024 — What should we take away from yet another suggestion that semaglutide might cut the risk of dementia? An Unexpected Finding This latest hint was a surprise. It comes from research that aimed to measure the risk of neurological and psychiatric problems associated with taking semaglutide for type 2 diabetes. Riccardo De Giorgi and colleagues were […]
July 14, 2024 — It is hard not to think we are seeing a subtle shift in prevailing bias about obesity. Almost a decade ago, Health Affairs saw merit in publishing projections to say that taxes and other restrictions on unhealthy foods and beverages were more important than providing medical care for children with obesity. The argument was that […]
July 13, 2024 — Barely seven months ago, business reporters were telling us Pfizer had decided to “drop,” “stop,” “can,” or “pull the plug” on danuglipron – an oral small molecule for obesity. But as we pointed out at the time, they missed the real story. Pfizer was shifting its gears to focus on a once daily form of […]
July 12, 2024 — Reuters has a news flash for us. People are quick to quit taking GLP-1 medicines. In an “exclusive” story, the Reuters report comes from a analysis from Prime Therapeutics and Magellan Rx (Prime/MRx) – a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM). The headline finding is that 85% of people who start on GLP-1 medicines have quit taking […]
