September 9, 2016 — The American Heart Association is promoting an analysis from its journal that suggests regular exercise can save money. In fact, the authors of this study find that medical expenses are about $2,500 lower annually for people who meet current guidelines for regular exercise. That’s at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. The […]
April 14, 2016 — A randomized clinical trial that started more than 50 years ago is inflaming passions about the effects of saturated fats on health. Newly published in the BMJ this week, these data went unpublished for decades. The study, intended to test the hypothesis that replacing saturated fat in the diet with polyunsaturated linoleic acid, would lower cholesterol […]
April 7, 2016 — There’s no denying it. We’re screwed up when the subject comes to health and body weight. That’s why body positivity — loving your body as it is — is an important concept gaining traction with the American public. But when you throw obesity into the mix, the conversation gets complicated. It gets complicated because people […]
November 17, 2015 — Coffee is a great case study for the rehabilitation of a formerly “unhealthy” beverage. A new study published in Circulation adds to the momentum for discarding an increasingly dated concern about the health effects of drinking coffee. In this large observational study, coffee drinkers live longer due to reduced risk of death due to heart […]
October 2, 2015 — A new study published this week in Obesity raises more questions than it answers about the obesity paradox. This paradox had been seen in many studies: people with cardiovascular disease who have excess weight sometimes live longer than people with weight in the normal BMI range. In this new study, Andrew Stokes and Samuel Preston […]
April 24, 2014 — This week brings great news about accomplishments in cleaning up the mess created by neglecting obesity. Two studies show that all the money we’re spending on treating diabetes and cardiovascular disease is paying off. Complication rates are dropping and fewer patients go untreated. Meanwhile, a third study shows that three quarters of primary care physicians […]
