March 31, 2020 — While the world has been busy with COVID-19, quite a lot has been happening in obesity. Last week, JAMA Pediatrics published an important review of all the evidence-based options for treating obesity in adolescents. The bottom line? Those options are too few, but more are coming. Today, we got a good look at one of […]
March 28, 2020 — Being certain sometimes means being certainly wrong. For decades now, we’ve assumed that childhood obesity is a problem that stems unhealthy eating. “One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the eating and exercise habits of your entire family,” says the Mayo Clinic. But a new study in JAMA tells us […]
March 6, 2020 — If lofty rhetoric about childhood obesity were helpful, we would be done here. But four decades of that rhetoric have proven not to be helpful. Back in 1974, the Lancet told us that adult obesity would most likely never be cured. However, with vigilance throughout childhood, most obesity could be prevented, they said. In 2002, […]
March 1, 2020 — Today marks the opening of a big week of awareness. Not awareness of obesity, but awareness of the need for better care for obesity. You see, people are plenty aware that obesity is a problem. Certainly people who are living with it know it. It’s the subject of lots of idle conversation and unhelpful suggestions […]
February 24, 2020 — Bless their hearts. Really. We know they mean well. Three health policy gurus have a new viewpoint in JAMA Pediatrics on childhood obesity treatment. They explain “how children and families make daily obesity-related decisions.” Because they’re “not rational.” So you have to “keep it simple” for them. Thus, behavioral economics can provide a wonderful little […]
February 19, 2020 — A new study this week in Pediatrics for the first time shows that children with late bedtimes have a higher risk of obesity. That association is even stronger if a child has parents with obesity. It’s not totally clear what this tells us – if anything – about cause and effect. But it’s reasonably clear […]
February 10, 2020 — Childhood obesity is a difficult subject. Many adults are walking around with intense feelings from rejection and derision in childhood because of their body size, shape, and weight. Children can be cruel. Sometimes adults are even crueler. So an obvious question arises. When children and youth need obesity care, what is the effect on psychological […]
January 26, 2020 — Back in October, the American Academy of Pediatrics made a bold statement. Teen bariatric surgery is an important, safe, and effective option for youth with severe obesity. Thus, we must solve problems with access to this care for many young people who need it. But a new study tells us that mere access to the […]
January 23, 2020 — People with a cause like to hook it up with childhood obesity. Breastfeeding is good for both mother and child. But it doesn’t magically prevent childhood obesity – no matter how many times advocates try to suggest it does. Likewise, overusing antibiotics is a huge problem – mainly because it leads to huge problems with […]
January 21, 2020 — Late last week (we call it a Friday news dump) the USDA proposed new rules for school nutrition. The administration calls it regulatory reform. Flexibility to reduce food waste. But childhood nutrition advocates call it a move for more pizza and fewer veggies at school. USDA says it “did not intentionally announce this proposed rule […]
