Follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health policy and obesity
May 28, 2023 — “Money makes the world go around.” Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli explained this in Cabaret. But sorting it out in healthcare – and specifically in obesity care right now – is quite a challenge. A lot of money is in play and so the tension between greed, health, and obesity care is painfully obvious. The […]
May 27, 2023 — Fame is fleeting. Just a few years ago, fake meat was a hot item with great prospects for transforming the future of food. In 2019 in the New York Times, Timothy Egan wrote “Fake Meat Will Save Us.” Other experts suggested burgers were headed for extinction. No wonder the capitalization of Beyond Meat soared to […]
May 26, 2023 — Some health insurance plans seem to be panicking. For years, the order of things was simple. People with obesity had only themselves to blame and besides, nothing could be done about their condition. So health insurers routinely denied coverage for medical care of obesity. “Regardless of any potential medical benefit” was the language written into […]
May 25, 2023 — Are we ready for a re-think of obesity and metabolic health? Ready to change the conversation about obesity medicines and bariatric surgery? Sergio Santoro, Scott Shikora, and Ricardo Cohen certainly think so. Writing in Obesity Surgery, they say it’s time to say goodbye to bariatric surgery and move on to the framework of metabolic surgery. […]
May 24, 2023 — The logic of trying to turn food into medicine simply escapes us. The week, the Washington Post has a new twist on food as medicine – telling us to eat our greens if we want better mental health. It leaves us with mixed feelings. On one hand, we’re all in on the concept of finding […]
May 23, 2023 — A pair of reports on Monday raised the possibility that we may soon have oral obesity meds that match the remarkable effectiveness of injections. One of these drugs is an oral formulation of semaglutide that’s already available at a much lower oral dose for diabetes under the brand name of Rybelsus. Novo Nordisk makes it. […]
May 22, 2023 — Despite a great deal of progress in recognizing weight bias and stigma, many challenges remain in overcoming it. Explicit expressions of weight bias no longer get a free pass. So they are becoming less common. But implicit weight bias is as strong as ever. Perhaps even more challenging is the weight bias that people direct […]
May 21, 2023 — Let’s get right to the point. This point is that it’s always best to stick with the truth. Sometimes it is inconvenient, but it is definitely the best choice. So we’re disappointed in you, WHO. We love you and hated to see you telling a fib this week when you issued a news bulletin, saying […]
May 20, 2023 — ECO2023 closed today with a clear focus on future progress in obesity. Lee Kaplan offered a view of what that future might look like with a focus on access and delivery of chronic care for obesity. Kaplan told us the future of obesity care lies in getting beyond merely saying that obesity is a disease. […]
May 19, 2023 — One question that holds us captive in obesity is the question of its origins. Why has its prevalence been rising so relentlessly now for decades? At ECO2023, this question inserted itself into one of the major themes of the meeting – a pursuit of the determinants of obesity. Commercial Determinants Emma Boyland and Aileen McGloin […]
