Follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health policy and obesity
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 12, 2025 — This has been quite a week for easy reading news nuggets about diabetes. First we had the news that Barbie is getting a nifty heart-shaped CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) patch and an insulin pump. Then comes a news blurb from CDC telling us that one in three teens have prediabetes. Should we celebrate the news […]
July 11, 2025 — A new scientific statement from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) marks a milestone in acknowledging the importance of treating obesity in patients with heart failure. It seems that cardiologists see the light and are recognizing the importance of moving beyond diet and lifestyle advice alone. The statement concludes: “Given emerging evidence of the benefits […]
July 10, 2025 — Whatever one’s politics, it should be plain to all that this is a humbling moment for the righteous cause of public health. An essay by John Tierney in The Atlantic says public health has discredited itself. Tierney describes the state of things in stark terms: “Although many skeptics have overreacted, rejecting sound science in favor […]
July 9, 2025 — A new review in Nutrition & Diabetes marks an effort to get serious about lifting an important concept – food noise – out of the realm of inane pop diet chatter. Emily Dhurandhar and colleagues take care in defining food noise: “The formal definition of food noise is persistent thoughts about food that are perceived […]
July 8, 2025 — Half a year has passed since the Lancet Commission on Clinical Obesity published its attempt to build a global consensus around a definition for obesity that distinguishes clinically significant obesity from preclinical obesity. Three new publications in Annals of Internal Medicine make it clear that this task is incomplete. Despite heroic efforts, consensus for distinguishing […]
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 […]
July 5, 2025 — We do admire folks who are willing to go out on a limb and put work into a subject as tough as the tensions between care for eating disorders and obesity. In a thoughtful new book, Marian Tanofsky-Kraff, Natasha Schvey, Robyn Pashby, and Natasha Burke are turning the page on an unhelpful “food fight.” Though […]
July 4, 2025 — This day (the American Fourth of July holiday) has us thinking more about liberty in America than obesity. So, as we read current news reports and think about the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, we cannot help wondering if it isn’t time to retire this relic. These words currently land with a thud: […]
