May 16, 2024 — We’re going to file this under “C” – for cluelessness. A new study in JAMA adds to the list of wellness strategies from people who have little understanding of obesity as a chronic disease. People who don’t understand that one-and-done weight loss does little to resolve the problem. The well-intended concept here is to pay […]
March 16, 2023 — We are living in an age of amplified contention. Anger can be like a muscle that gets stronger when we exercise it. If you doubt that, take a long look at what social media amplifies. So seeing passionate contention at the intersection of obesity and eating disorders might be unsurprising. But it’s not especially helpful […]
October 14, 2022 — Let’s begin at the end. No. Everyone who loses weight does not regain it all. Nonetheless, it’s quite popular for folks to offer up that narrative if they want to sell the idea that obesity is normal and healthy and it’s worse than a waste of time for individuals to try to do something about […]
July 3, 2022 — The script is clear enough. Childhood obesity is a “serious and growing concern.” Its effects can be “devastating,” say the authors of a recent commentary on USPSTF guidelines for it. So the script from the USPSTF tells pediatricians that they should screen for obesity starting at the age of six and refer children to behavioral […]
May 23, 2022 — As we explained yesterday, there’s quite a body of research on the food cues that surround us and keep prodding us to eat. Food marketing embeds itself deeply in our daily lives. We suspect it explains a lot about our obesogenic food environment. Yet changing that environment has proven to be quite a challenge. So […]
April 4, 2022 — Motivational interviewing (MI) is a foundational tool for obesity care. In this setting, it is all about listening, understanding, and bolstering a patient’s motivation in seeking care for obesity. But what should we make of the revelation about it last week in the Annals of Internal Medicine? A study found that it doesn’t, by itself, […]
August 4, 2019 — The closing day of YWM2019 began and ended with acceptance and commitment. First, Jason Lillis presented a brilliant session on using our own values to empower healthy changes. Then, at the end, attendees told their own true stories of acceptance and commitment to live their best lives. It was a perfect pair of bookends for […]
May 1, 2018 — A new viewpoint in the current issue of JAMA suggests that how we embrace or avoid failure in pursuing health-related changes has a direct impact on motivation. Shreya Kangovi and David Asch caution that self-monitoring aspects for health promotion has some disadvantages. When the number on the scale for those attempting weight loss, or on […]
December 13, 2017 — We have a new window into the thinking of primary care physicians (PCPs) about obesity. But the view is dismal. On the subject of obesity, physicians believe that that biology is not so important. Why do people with obesity tend to regain weight? Physicians say behavioral factors are more important than biology. Likewise, they rated […]
