October 11, 2022 — The toughest question about obesity is also the simplest and most basic. Why do we have so much more of it now? In the spirit of H.L. Mencken, most people presume the answer is also simple. People are just eating too much, moving too little, and they should change their ways. Problem solved. But in […]
May 22, 2022 — Our food environment has changed to contribute to the rise in obesity over the last half century. People disagree about many things in the effort to find policies to reduce obesity. But this presumption is one that most of us can agree upon. The real question, though, is how to define these changes. Are ultra-processed […]
May 17, 2022 — The British strategy to reverse trends in the health effects of obesity is “falling apart.” So says the distinguished obesity expert Jamie Oliver. He’s a chef, a celebrity, and thus an authority on the complex mix of biological, social, and political science that defines the public health struggle with obesity. But despite his wishes to […]
May 13, 2022 — What is going on here? Why is this happening? What is the cause? The struggle to discern causality bedevils anyone who is serious about understanding obesity and how to overcome it. But the line between cause and effect can be very blurry, and fuzzy thinking ensues. And thus, the progress toward reversing the relentless increase […]
February 25, 2022 — Authors of a new study in PLOS Medicine tell us that they have encouraging new evidence for an effective anti-obesity policy. They conclude “These findings provide support for policies that restrict HFSS [high fat, salt, or sugar] product advertising as a tool to reduce purchases of HFSS products, as a way of improving population diet […]
