April 9, 2020 — Health disparities are an ever-present feature of American healthcare. Money, race, and ethnicity have long been deciding factors in who lives and who dies. Chronic diseases have their greatest impact on black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged communities. Prevalence is higher. But access to treatment is lower. It’s equally true for diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. […]
March 27, 2020 — Knowledge is power, said Sir Francis Bacon in the 16th century. But today, that aphorism has morphed. Now it seems that misinformation is quite powerful. Governments and politicians have learned that they can censor information simply by overwhelming truth with noise. However, misinformation in a health crisis can be deadly. Truth and public trust are […]
March 15, 2020 — Ready or not, it’s time to get comfortable with the idea of telemedicine for obesity care. Because the unfolding coronavirus pandemic is making it a fact of life. Wired describes it as a safety valve for a strained healthcare system. In addition, less personal contact is a tool for slowing the spread of this virus. […]
March 5, 2020 — The future for health and obesity care looks bright. Or dismal. It all depends on the velvet rope that governs access to care. This is why we’re focusing today for Obesity Care Week on the access to health and obesity care. Because if you have good access to care, you’ve got options and they’re getting […]
March 1, 2020 — Today marks the opening of a big week of awareness. Not awareness of obesity, but awareness of the need for better care for obesity. You see, people are plenty aware that obesity is a problem. Certainly people who are living with it know it. It’s the subject of lots of idle conversation and unhelpful suggestions […]
January 26, 2020 — Back in October, the American Academy of Pediatrics made a bold statement. Teen bariatric surgery is an important, safe, and effective option for youth with severe obesity. Thus, we must solve problems with access to this care for many young people who need it. But a new study tells us that mere access to the […]
January 11, 2020 — A new study in the January issue of Diabetes Care makes one thing very clear. We pay a steep price for untreated NASH – nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This is a disease that starts with fat tissue building up in the liver. Then inflammation develops. After that, it can progress to liver damage and failure, ultimately requiring […]
December 19, 2019 — Just in time for the holidays, the New England Journal of Medicine has a hot news flash for us. Obesity is rising. Soon – by the end of the coming decade – the prevalence will be 50 percent in the U.S. Moreover, severe obesity will have risen to affect 25 percent of the U.S. population. […]
December 10, 2019 — Entrenched habits die hard. So it is with treating bariatric surgery as a last resort. In case you had any doubt, a new study in PLOS Medicine provides more reason to rethink this is a false premise for bariatric surgery. Jans Anders and colleagues found that when more time passes between the onset of diabetes […]
December 9, 2019 — We’re just about done with this decade that started in 2010. And if you look back over these ten years, it’s plain to see that we’ve marked some big milestones in obesity and health. Here are ten that stand out. No doubt, others will seem big to you. So please, use the comment function below […]
