July 16, 2025 — “This study confirms what I’ve been saying, which is that diet is the key culprit in our current epidemic,” says Barry Popkin. He’s talking about a new study in PNAS. With a giant leap of faith, one can use this study for a perfect expression of confirmation bias about the role of diet and exercise […]
July 13, 2025 — Nudging the behavior of consumers seems like an appealing strategy for overcoming the rise in obesity and the harm it is causing to population health. Apply a little behavioral psychology and voilà! People make healthier choices. The appeal is so strong that the UK government is counting on supermarket nudges to overcome obesity and save […]
July 7, 2025 — FDA Commissioner Marty Makary believes that defining ultra-processed foods is the key to overcoming the health problems these products produce. He recently told the New York Times: “We do not see ultra-processed foods as foods to be banned. We see them as foods to be defined so that markets can compete based on health.” So […]
July 6, 2025 — In the midst of a lot of blather that assigns magical medical properties to food, its downright refreshing to read reflections from Tamar Haspel on the nature of food in Italy – and how people enjoy their food in that country. It is the food environment in Italy, not the food itself, that seems to […]
June 30, 2025 — Within a month, we expect that U.S. Dietary Guidelines will come out of the MAHA machine, looking like nothing that came before. Speculation is rife and the expectations are low that this new incarnation will be tethered to nutrition research. Writing in The Atlantic about HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and the imminent issuance of […]
June 13, 2025 — Thoughtful reporting by Jackie Snow in the New York Times prompts us to wonder about the possibility of a “contagion effect” from GLP-1s in families. When a parent receives highly effective treatment for obesity, what might the effect be on other family members? Of course, any answers to this question come from anecdotal observations. They […]
June 8, 2025 — This headline from the University of Oklahoma captured our attention: “Fatty acid in olive oil drives obesity.” It was even more attractive when we read and understood this was not more of the linoleic acid and seed oils dogma bubbling up. It was a headline prompted by a new study of oleic acid and molecular […]
June 4, 2025 — It is fascinating. Nutrition 2025 concluded yesterday in Orlando and even though the conference is all about nutrition research, an intense interest in the interaction of GLP-1 medicines with nutrition was a theme in the meeting from its very start all the way to the end. At the end, with two distinguished obesity researchers, Randy […]
June 3, 2025 — New research at Nutrition 2025 used blood markers to measure linoleic acid levels and their relation to cardiometabolic risk. The results add to the evidence that this omega-6 fatty acid may help to lower risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Annoyingly, the facts of these findings challenge deeply held beliefs that seed oils […]
May 23, 2025 — The new MAHA (Making America Healthy Again) report on the health of American children is out and, in a word, things are terrible. In the words of the report, “it presents the stark reality of American children’s declining health.” We have a whole generation at risk because of toxic chemicals, ultra-processed food, unnecessary medical treatments, […]
