November 26, 2020 — We have come to an odd relationship with food, because we are full of contradictions. This American Thanksgiving holiday brings those contradictions into sharp view. While an increasing number of Americans are going hungry, we’re celebrating a national feast day that is a time to give thanks for abundance. Hunger Soaring with the Pandemic At […]
November 25, 2020 — Implicit bias about obesity is a funny thing. In the middle of a conversation about it, someone tells us, “Sure, it’s biological. But you can’t just go eating burgers and fries all the time.” Invite people to share their thoughts about obesity and you get images of a mom gorging herself on a ridiculous burger. […]
November 19, 2020 — Bias about obesity is funny. Because some of the smartest people say the dumbest things when they aren’t thinking. That’s when implicit weight bias comes into view. For example, Governor Andrew Cuomo connected the dots yesterday between cheesecake, COVID, and obesity. But it’s pretty hard to figure out what in the world he was thinking. […]
November 18, 2020 — We don’t mean to pick on this lovely ad campaign by the NHS. Because there’s nothing wrong with promoting healthy lifestyles. But unfortunately, it isn’t going to do a thing to reverse the obesity trends in the UK. It reflects a mentality about confronting obesity that fails over and over. Just do better and make […]
November 16, 2020 — The term of art for this is an expression of concern. It sounds very restrained, but it is quite serious. Four papers about the effects of Vitamin D in the Journal of Nutrition recently earned this dubious distinction. Add that to a paper in PLOS ONE that is getting the same sort of scrutiny. In […]
November 13, 2020 — We have some screwy ideas about food, nutrition, weight, and health. So naturally, we can fight about it in education. OMG! What are they teaching my child about nutrition and health at school? Today, the New York Times frets that teachers may be teaching children to diet. Welcome to a new chapter of culture wars […]
November 12, 2020 — The American College of Cardiology is serving up anti-inflammatory food. Dig in! In a press release earlier this month, the College told us that an anti-inflammatory diet can lower heart disease and stroke risk. It sounds great, but if you read the press release, you’ll find that these studies are all about modest correlations. Not […]
October 30, 2020 — One of the biggest surprises in this COVID-19 pandemic has been intense interest in vitamin D. Earlier this month, readers swarmed around an item we wrote about it. Now, a month later, the interest persists. Some people seem to be looking for magic for COVID from vitamin D. Others are finding issues. We advise sensible […]
October 27, 2020 — Just in time for Halloween, JACC has published another scary study about diet drinks. The study finds an association with cardiovascular disease. It’s great fuel for the health news machine, but not so helpful for informing people about real health risks. CNN says this is part of a “growing body of research” suggesting something scary […]
October 25, 2020 — After two decades of really bad publicity, sugar is reinventing itself. Just last week, FDA finalized its rules for allulose, a rare but natural form of sugar. It looks and tastes a lot like regular sugar, though it’s about one third less sweet. But the really sweet deal is that the final rule from FDA […]
