Follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health policy and obesity
April 19, 2024 — Perhaps it was inevitable. Last week, the Times plunged into stereotypes about obesity care and gender, asking “Is the era of ‘Brozempic’ upon us?” The spark for the story comes from the efforts of telehealth businesses trying to crack the code for reaching men with concerns about obesity. It can be awkward. The cultural baggage […]
April 18, 2024 — Yesterday, Eli Lilly and Company announced topline results for two studies of tirzepatide in people with obesity and sleep apnea. Both in people who were using CPAP devices and in those who were not, the year-long studies yielded results that independent sleep medicine researchers described as “awesome” and “phenomenal.” Clinical scientists will present the details […]
April 17, 2024 — GLP-1 agonists offer an opportunity to reduce health disparities, writes Karen Kaplan in the Los Angeles Times. But a problem with equity in obesity care is getting in the way. So instead, it seems they may be making things worse. Cardiologist and health services researcher Lauren Eberly tells Kaplan: “These patients have a higher burden […]
April 16, 2024 — Right now GLP-1 medicines for obesity carry high list prices that engender great debates about how many billions (hyperbolists will say trillions) of dollars treating obesity will cost healthcare systems. For the uninitiated, it’s quite natural to think of metabolic procedures and obesity medicine in terms of either/or questions. No matter that this is a […]
April 15, 2024 — “Trust no one.” This classic line sets up thrillers, mysteries, and the moment we seem to be living. Trust in institutions is low and misinformation proliferates through electronic and social media. Because we are in the middle of a very careful, transparent, and public process for developing a new edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, […]
April 14, 2024 — Quietly but firmly last year, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that it is A-OK for Texas Tech to fire a medical resident for obesity. No need to hear about whether she could do her job. Her “habitus” was a problem, they said. During a long and difficult emergency case, she was breathing heavily and sweated. […]
April 13, 2024 — In The Conversation this week, Emma Beckett tells us that drugs for treating obesity won’t cure it, “but they might make us more fat-phobic.” Her rationale is simple enough. All the buzz “plays into ideas of fat stigma and fat phobia.” No matter that doctors, scientists, and the FDA all say otherwise, she says these […]
April 12, 2024 — Do our brains respond differently to food cues when we’re feeling lonely or socially isolated? New research from UCLA certainly suggests this may be true. Researchers from UCLA published findings in JAMA Network Open last week from an analysis of functional MRI (fMRI) scans of 93 women with varying levels of self-reported social isolation. The women […]
April 11, 2024 — Two decades ago, the state of Arkansas became the first in the nation to require every school to send parents BMI report cards – also known as fat letters. Back then, in 2003, the obesity rate for children in Arkansas was 17%. Since then, obesity in Arkansas public school students has risen dramatically. In the […]
April 10, 2024 — More sustainable and healthy diets are a global goal of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The FAO says the need for this focus is increasingly evident, but certainly not simple to achieve. Nutrition recommendations around the world are beginning to incorporate these considerations, they say. “Such recommendations include for example: having a mostly […]
