September 21, 2018 — Perhaps your mother told you cleanliness is next to godliness. That concept found its way into a 1778 sermon by John Wesley. But it’s even older than that. Ancient Babylonian and Hebrew religious texts have the earliest references. Now, CMAJ wants to put cleanliness next to obesity. Could there be a clean connection? An Association with […]
September 5, 2018 — A new viewpoint in JAMA Pediatrics yesterday reminds us that respectful care for childhood obesity is remarkable. Why? How can it be that good care for one of the most common health problems of childhood is unusual? Respectful Language Is a Start Fatima Cody Stanford and Ted Kyle point out that respectful language is an […]
August 31, 2018 — Seeing is believing. So showing before and after results is a tried and true way to persuade people that something works. The effect must be real. You can see for yourself. Unfortunately, for weight management it’s the basis for bogus claims of effectiveness. In a letter to the editor, Bridget Hannon and colleagues point out […]
August 25, 2018 — This week has been long and filled with serious news. So, we’re filled with gratitude for a hilariously absurd story from ITV and the British press. They’ve given us a load of comic relief to end the week. You might think of it as a load of something else, but we’re keeping it clean here. With […]
August 23, 2018 — We find an odd bit of logic woven into a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics this month. Overweight and obesity is becoming common in teens, so it’s tough for them to think of it as abnormal. So fewer teens are worrying about losing weight. And thus, those adolescents are missing out on opportunities for obesity […]
August 20, 2018 — Ask a thoughtful scientist precisely what has brought us a global pandemic of obesity and you are likely to get an ambiguous answer. We have plenty of suspects. But no sinuglar culprit. So the honest answer is IDK. Faking It vs “I Don’t Know” Most often, neither journalists nor policymakers let the facts get in […]
August 10, 2018 — Five months ago, we wrote about inflated claims of effectiveness from a pilot study of obesity prevention by Scherr et al. An independent group of researchers had written to the journal with concerns about the flawed analysis of the study. The flaws effectively canceled out the claims of effectiveness for the program. But Scherr et […]
August 9, 2018 — Journals are bursting with studies of childhood obesity this week. One appeared in Pediatrics. JAMA published two of them. Furthermore, all of these studies were randomized and controlled. On top of all that, JAMA published an editorial, describing “a glimmer of hope” for preventing childhood obesity. A Glimmer or a Wish? Unfortunately, we’re not seeing a lot […]
August 7, 2018 — Childhood obesity generates a lot of talk. But it might surprise you to learn how little we actually know about the natural history of this disease. And what little we know has been a bit discouraging. However, a new study by Danny Luan and colleagues offers some important new insight. Remissions, Though Not Typical, Are […]
July 27, 2018 — Growing up, I was the definition of meek. I also carried more weight on my frame and towered above my peers. Despite this, I was a good friend to my fellow elementary schoolers. However, In addition to my timid yet friendly nature, I was also painfully aware of my obesity from a young age, which affected […]
