July 25, 2021 — Healthcare and policies on obesity serve people with wealth and privilege. The disparities are great in the U.S. But they exist everywhere. Just look at childhood obesity in the U.K. Consider the ten percent of children with the most social and economic deprivation. They have three times higher rates of obesity compared to the ten […]
July 4, 2021 — This is a day for Americans to celebrate independence. Though the holiday marks independence from a colonial power, Americans invest a lot in a broader concept of independence. Dependence on others for many things – including care for health – is essential for strong communities, and yet Americans celebrate a spirit of independence. It wasn’t […]
July 2, 2021 — Federal oversight of dietary supplements is modest and insufficient. This gentle understatement summarizes a new perspective from the Obesity Society on dietary supplements and alternative therapies for obesity. It comes with a systematic review of the evidence – or lack of it – for these products. Nonetheless, people keep selling this bunk for weight loss […]
June 28, 2021 — For state employees in Louisiana, this might seem like a big step forward. Or it might be so small that it doesn’t amount to much. Last week, the Governor of Louisiana signed a bill into law that requires the state employee health plan to cover bariatric surgery. However, it comes with some serious limitations. Thousands […]
June 19, 2021 — A special kind of wellness woo as taken root in HR departments all over the world. Corporate wellness is a $53 billion industry selling an appealing narrative. Acme Widgets can cut its health costs and boost productivity if it nudges employees to adopt healthy habits. Healthy lifestyles will save us from illness, right? So businesses […]
June 10, 2021 — New data on deaths for 2020 from CDC present a stark picture. The rate of deaths due to heart disease rose by more than three percent in 2020. This has happened only one other time in the last 20 years. In 2015, the death rated rose by less than a percent. Even more dramatically, the […]
May 28, 2021 — At AACE2021 yesterday, Fatima Cody Stanford, Patty Nece, and Ted Kyle drove a simple point home. It’s time to take weight bias out of healthcare. It harms health, amplifies health disparities, and gets in the way whenever someone living with obesity needs care. But solutions are within reach. Proper training for healthcare professionals can do […]
May 28, 2021 — It has long been true that health systems delay care for teens with severe obesity. Health plans stall and do their best to avoid paying. Many pediatricians are uncomfortable with the subject. Parents are unsure of what to do and often feel blame for their child’s medical condition. Guilt and blame breed denial and delay. […]
May 25, 2021 — Obesity comes largely from an inheritance of susceptibility. But this fact is a challenge for many people to accept. Instead, they insist on explaining obesity and health as the result of choices and merit. Good choices beget good health. Bioethics professor Lisa Parker suggests that we give up some of these myths of merit and […]
May 18, 2021 — There’s both good news and bad news in a new study of physician attitudes about obesity in Europe. The good news is that, by and large, most physicians in this sample get it. Obesity is a disease they should be treating. The bad news? They’re not really doing it. Dig into the results and what […]
