Follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health policy and obesity
May 26, 2019 — Does less toast and more avocado make for a more satisfying breakfast? Does that mean that we’d all lose a little weight if we made this swap? Thanks to the Hass Avocado Board, we have some actual data to tell us that the answers are yes and maybe not. So feel free to go easy […]
May 25, 2019 — For some people, this might not sound like much of a holiday. People frequently gain weight when they’re on a holiday. But a new study in Obesity suggests that preventing this might not be terribly complicated. Just step on the scales, please. Every day. Paying Attention Works At least in the short term, this study […]
May 24, 2019 — Isn’t dealing with excess weight already hard enough? Now, researchers from Japan want us to walk and chew gum and lose weight all at once. In a randomized controlled trial, Susumu Kanno and colleagues recently showed that walking and chewing gum causes people to burn more fat than just walking without the gum. The authors […]
May 23, 2019 — Objectivity is tough. For a case in point, let’s look at how people are processing new data from Kevin Hall and colleagues on ultra-processed foods. It’s important. For the first time, we have good data to say that these foods can cause weight gain. Before we had speculation. Now we have good, experimental evidence. Some […]
May 22, 2019 — The Veteran’s Administration runs the biggest medical care program for obesity in world. It’s the MOVE! program. Because 41 percent of veterans are living with obesity, this disease has enormous cost implications for the VA system. Not because providing obesity care is expensive. Rather, it’s because the health costs of so much obesity – both […]
May 21, 2019 — Another solution to obesity popped up in the headlines today. “Student Loses 115 Lbs. by Walking to High School Every Day,” says People magazine. That headline happened to coincide with the release of a new study in BMC Public Health. A press release from the University of Cambridge tells us: Children who regularly walk or […]
May 20, 2019 — Today we’re at the WHO for the WHA learning all about NCDs and UHC. Alphabet soup for lunch. Obesity? It was hiding behind the chia seeds at the breakfast buffet. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and universal health coverage (UHC) are big priorities at the 72nd World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva today. But within the global […]
May 19, 2019 — Low-fat diets are back in the news this week. An impressive and important randomized, controlled clinical trial started way back in 1993 to test the possibility that a low-fat diet might reduce the risk of breast cancer in women after menopause. Needless to say, a lot has changed in 26 years since then. Back then, […]
May 18, 2019 — For severe teen obesity there’s only one very effective treatment option – bariatric surgery. But seldom do patients get it while they are still teens. For one thing, only six children’s hospitals have fully accredited bariatric surgery programs in all of the U.S. With six million kids who have severe obesity, the number of centers […]
May 17, 2019 — Kevin Hall is a bit of a myth buster. In a number of studies, he has put popular ideas about obesity and nutrition under the microscope of objective data. And by doing so, he proved them wrong. But in a new study published yesterday, he proved himself wrong about ultra-processed food. In a carefully controlled […]
