News Archive for October, 2025

The acute shortage of obesity medicines is over. But in absolute terms we are still operating with a mindset of scarcity when thoughts turn to obesity care. Policy often dictates limited access to care and even more so, to medicines that can so effectively treat this condition. What happens if we start thinking in terms […]

Starbucks denies it. The official word from the dominant force behind pumpkin spice season is that the launch of its fall menu – featuring the much loved and hated latte – sparked the “best ever sales week” for Starbucks. Nonetheless, we can’t help wondering if pumpkin spice is wearing thin. Call us cynical, but there’s […]

FDA and the MAHA Commission seem to be making health labels for food and beverage products a priority. But it looks like the front-of-pack label in the current proposal is relatively ineffective. At least that’s what we’re seeing in a new randomized controlled study by Anna Grummon et al in JAMA Network Open. It was […]

It’s entertaining, but not really funny. At an Oval Office press event Thursday, which was supposed to be all about fertility drugs, President Trump opened his remarks talking about “a certain drug” that costs $130 in London and $1,300 in New York. “So now we’re going to be paying, instead of $1,300, you’ll be paying […]

When it comes to obesity, it seems everyone is looking for clickbait. Facts are incidental. So this week, we have wildly differing news headlines about U.S. obesity prevalence. The Harvard Gazette tells us we have an “astounding surge” in obesity prevalence. Axios tells us there’s “good news” on obesity prevalence. Where does the truth lie? […]

UPDATE: Axios reports the administration has now reversed its decision that eliminated NHANES staff at CDC. It seems that tariff policy is not the only whipsaw game in town.   Pesky facts and data get in the way of policymakers who want to pursue their agenda. So should we be surprised that the critical staff […]

The World Medical Association (WMA) has just taken a significant step forward in how the world’s medical community understands and responds to obesity. Its newly adopted Statement on Obesity, approved this week at the WMA General Assembly in Porto, reframes obesity not as a social or lifestyle problem, but as a complex, chronic disease that […]

At FNCE yesterday, the Weight Management practice group presented the changing role of dietitians in weight management with remarkable clarity – something GLP-1s are bringing at a dizzying pace. Colleen Tewksbury summed up the very essence of this change, saying: “We are shifting the focus from quantity to quality of nutrition in weight management.” It […]

We have trust issues. It is true in every dimension of life today, so it should be no surprise that we face increasing skepticism about healthy eating advice. In a review of the IFIC Food and Health Survey research, one fact stands out to us. Among U.S. adults, 79% say it’s hard to know what […]

Honestly, there is so much glaring, blinding irony in the news these days that this one almost slipped by us. Costco makes its money from selling people ginormous packs of food, but now the chain is getting into the action on GLP-1s by selling them at the discounted price of $499 per month. Both Ozempic […]