May 24, 2022 — It seems to be an article of faith. Millions of low-income Americans live in food deserts and it puts them at higher risk for obesity. That’s a prevalent narrative to explain the link between poverty and obesity. And thus, the narrative works its way into the interpretation of research on programs for fixing food deserts. […]
May 22, 2022 — Our food environment has changed to contribute to the rise in obesity over the last half century. People disagree about many things in the effort to find policies to reduce obesity. But this presumption is one that most of us can agree upon. The real question, though, is how to define these changes. Are ultra-processed […]
May 17, 2022 — The British strategy to reverse trends in the health effects of obesity is “falling apart.” So says the distinguished obesity expert Jamie Oliver. He’s a chef, a celebrity, and thus an authority on the complex mix of biological, social, and political science that defines the public health struggle with obesity. But despite his wishes to […]
May 16, 2022 — ConscienHealth enjoys the good fortune of attracting readers who might disagree with some of the words we share here. So yesterday, when we suggested that food policy wonks might be “giving ‘big food’ a free pass,” it was not entirely surprising to hear from a notable persona in food policy – Marion Nestle. Ever so […]
May 15, 2022 — Ten years ago, PLOS Medicine published an examination of the role of “Big Food” in global health with a collection of articles. It was an indictment, to be sure, and this theme continues to resonate today. PLOS Medicine editors summed it up: “Big multinational food companies control what people everywhere eat, resulting in a stark […]
April 30, 2022 — In food policy, there’s plenty that people are ready to fight about. Dairy and meat come to mind. Anyone who’s reading this will doubtless have their own list of hot topics. But one subject that gets most people nodding their heads is marketing junk food to children. So for more than a decade, the World […]
April 26, 2022 — “The etiology of obesity is multifactorial. However, the root cause is energy imbalance: more calories consumed than expended.” This was the explanation for obesity that Dariush Mozaffarian offered in 2008. Today, he writes in AJCN that obesity is “an unexplained epidemic.” We count this as a flicker of curiosity about obesity. If it spreads, perhaps […]
April 24, 2022 — We’re now two months into an utterly stupid war in Ukraine. Life in that country has been turned upside down. Global trade with Russia is grinding to a halt. As a result, 12 percent of the calories in the world’s food supply is at risk. Moving fertilizer into farms is becoming a challenge in this […]
April 21, 2022 — Somehow, we’re beginning to detect a pattern. Yet another hot concept in weight loss – intermittent fasting, a.k.a. time restricted eating – once again is showing no better results than simple calorie restriction. Could it be a safe bet that the diet du jour will always turn out to be a big yawn? Though hope […]
April 16, 2022 — Yesterday, the USDA opened up the process for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. They invited us all to comment on the questions they will pose to a scientific advisory committee. Then they’ll appoint that committee and put it to work on producing a report. The report goes into the sausage grinder of policy making. […]
