October 13, 2018 — My struggle with weight began in my early teens. That was when my doctor prescribed a birth control medicine to treat dysmenorrhea. But I didn’t know it would cause massive weight gain and hormone fluctuations. I’ve had to work at overcoming obesity every day of my life since then. One of the hardest things about […]
October 12, 2018 — There’s no gentle way to express this. We suffer from a huge ethical blind spot regarding access to obesity care. Today, as National Obesity Care Week focuses upon access to care, we must acknowledge just how big this gap is. Of course, we focus a lot on the issue of access to obesity treatment. We […]
October 11, 2018 — Weight bias and stigma hold power over us. It can poison just about everything we might do about obesity. And yet today, it unites us. As we observe National Obesity Care Week, our focus today is squarely upon weight bias. Two Ways to Express Bias Two distinct types of bias work against us. First and […]
October 8, 2018 — Diet is a four letter word. People who hate the word like to point out that it starts with die. So it is that more or less everyone agrees dieting does not work for the long term. But this is where the confusion starts. Because sustainable changes to long-term patterns of diet can make a […]
October 7, 2018 — Just a few years ago, the debate was still going strong. “This is not a disease. People have the capacity to take control of their lives. It’s a disorder of choice.” Sound familiar? In 2010, Harvard’s Gene Heyman made these arguments against dealing with addiction as a disease in a popular book from the Harvard […]
October 5, 2018 — Who are they to judge? Overcoming anthropometry through fat bodybuilding. The journal Fat Studies published and has now retracted that hoax study. But this was not a one-off hoax. It was part of a series, concocted to make a point. Academic grievance studies are corrupting scholarship, say Helen Pluckrose, James A. Lindsay, and Peter Boghossian. Harvard lecturer Yascha Mounk […]
September 20, 2018 — Ready or not, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans are coming our way in 2020. In the midst of our polarized politics, you can be sure that this round will have some difficult twists and turns. No More One Size Fits All The new dietary guidelines will follow a life stage approach. USDA and HHS organized […]
September 11, 2018 — Ever increasing reliance on restaurant food is high on just about everyone’s list of suspects to blame for rising obesity. But what’s the right response? One answer, from CSPI, is to call out ridiculously unhealthy menu items. CSPI unveiled its latest lineup of absurd entrees last week. 2018 Xtreme Eating Awards Truly, the winners on […]
September 9, 2018 — Five years ago, fat shaming was no problem for the shamers. Fat shaming in just about any context was unremarkable. It hardly caused a ripple. But no longer. Cross the line into fat shaming territory and the internet will not be happy with you. Just ask the creators of Insatiable. It could have been a funny and […]
September 7, 2018 — We’re just one month away from National Obesity Care Week. It’s October 7-16 this year. But now is the time to make your plans and pledge to take action. Here’s why. 1. Weight Bias Is Blocking Progress Weight stigma starts early and hits hard. It has devastating effects on health and quality of life at […]
