April 18, 2019 — The data are stubbornly refusing to cooperate with the wizards of workplace wellness. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds no effect on health or economic outcomes. Professor Eric Topol aptly sums it up in a tweet: The folly of “workplace wellness” programs: no clinical outcome improvements despite billions of […]
April 10, 2019 — Blue Bloods is a CBS drama series about a family of police officers in New York City. Fans appreciate the show for exploring the reality of complex moral issues. Last week the show explored the issue of fitness – i.e. obesity – and unfortunately failed to live up to its reputation. Bottom line, the show […]
April 9, 2019 — The logic is inescapable. Type 2 diabetes is a cruel, progressive disease that slowly, but surely destroys a body from the inside out.Strokes, heart disease, amputations, organ failure – they’re all part of a bleak picture. Intensive medical care can slow it down. But metabolic surgery can put it into remission. Three years ago, a […]
April 5, 2019 — Why is implicit weight bias growing while other forms of implicit bias are dropping? Here’s one reason: routine and explicit dehumanization. A new study in Obesity documents a stark reality. Our culture is dehumanizing people with obesity. Furthermore, dehumanization provides an excuse for policies to discriminate against people living with obesity. Less Than Human Through a […]
March 7, 2019 — Professor Roy Taylor has a passion for shaking diabetes into remission. Two year results are in for the DiRECT trial of an intensive weight management program using meal replacement shakes. The goal is to put type 2 diabetes into remission. The program met the goal in 36 percent of patients after two years. Thus, we […]
March 6, 2019 — United Behavioral Health is systematically “ignoring the effective treatment of members’ underlying conditions,” says U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero. In an ongoing case, the judge issued a scathing decision against this division of United Healthcare. This case is all about access to care for mental health and addiction. But it perfectly illustrates the playbook for […]
March 4, 2019 — It sounded like she was thinking about scrambling eggs. “I don’t want to crack open Medicare Part D for obesity meds,” said this bright young Senate health staffer last week. “Don’t you think a lot of this is coming from depression?” she asked. Such are the questions we hear from some policymakers about obesity care. […]
March 1, 2019 — “I just worry about opening the floodgates.” These are the kinds of things you might hear when you talk to folks who’ve never lived with obesity about access to care. But undaunted by such implicit bias, 35 volunteers made more than 100 visits with their elected representatives to ask for real action now on obesity. […]
February 4, 2019 — Three years ago, 45 global organizations endorsed guidelines recommending metabolic surgery to reverse type 2 diabetes. At about the same time the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a big expansion of the Diabetes Prevention Program with great fanfare. But today, very few of the patients who could benefit from either of these options […]
February 3, 2019 — We like to be optimistic. In many, many ways, things are getting better for dealing with obesity. Science is giving us a much better understanding of the physiology of this disease. AMA and medical organizations all over the world recognize it a chronic disease, not evidence of some sort of character flaw. And treatment options […]
