Posts Tagged ‘body composition’

Tantalizing: Bimagrumab, Obesity, and Body Composition

January 6, 2020 — It was a stunning and unique result that seemed to come out of nowhere at ObesityWeek late last year. A new drug, bimagrumab, yielded a 21 percent reduction in fat mass after 48 weeks. But lean body mass went up by 3.6 percent. This result is distinctly different from what usually happens in obesity treatment. […]

Military Appearance, Function, and Health

May 8, 2018 — How much does physical appearance matter in the military? After all, national security relies more and more on technology. This question jumps out from a full day workshop on obesity in the armed forces at the National Academies. The answer depends in part on the branch of service. Physical functioning and health are certainly important […]

Obesity in Elephants: Body Size Is Beside the Point

December 27, 2017 — Some people still object to the idea that obesity is a chronic disease. They express concerns that body size is a poor marker for health. But that argument confuses obesity with body size. For insight, consider the case of obesity in elephants. These are all large animals. Some have obesity and some do not. A […]

Ask Brandon Ingram if Body Weight Is a Choice

August 9, 2016 — If you think that body composition – and thus obesity – is primarily the result of personal choices, we ask you to consider the case of Brandon Ingram. He is a “skinny kid”  who is desperately trying to put on some weight so he can reach his full potential as a professional basketball player. As it is, […]

Sneaky Bias in the Realm of Obesity

March 29, 2016 — Sneaky bias has an annoyingly persistent way of creeping into obesity research. A case in point appears in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in a study that we reported last week. Though we mocked the proposition that only 3% of Americans have a healthy lifestyle, we did not call out the flaw in the study that led to this […]