May 9, 2024 — We’re packing our bags for Venice, where the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2024) will start in just a few days. A lot will be coming at us in a short space of time, so taking time to set some priorities is essential. Thus, we have a short list of things that we’ll be seeking […]
March 14, 2024 — Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder affecting young women, with effects that can span from adolescence to life after menopause. It is a complex condition and despite being so common, it’s still poorly understood. Quite often, obesity occurs coincidentally with PCOS. This coincidence has led to the kind of mistakes that […]
September 26, 2023 — A leftover from the days of moral panic about obesity is the designation of September as National Childhood Obesity Month. The intentions were good but with prevention as the sole focus, families and youth already living with severe obesity got the message. They did not really count. But at the YWM 2023 Engage convention, OAC […]
March 15, 2023 — One of the most disappointing responses to the new guideline for obesity care in children and adolescents came from the Academy of Eating Disorders. Shortly after AAP published its evidence-based guideline for obesity care, the Academy for Eating Disorders issued a press release to criticize it. But their criticism used speculation rather than data to […]
February 13, 2023 — Perhaps you’ve noticed. Our lives, especially our professional lives, have an abundant supply of hostility these days. So seriously, should we be surprised by the anger welling up from people with strong feelings about guidance on medical care for young persons who face health issues because of obesity? No. But learning from this anger might […]
February 10, 2023 — We are in the midst of a fundamental change in the understanding of obesity. Years of hand-wringing – with urgent calls to eat less and move more – promoted weight stigma more than it reduced obesity prevalence. To counter this, the trademarked Health at Every Size (HAES) movement rose up to call out the mistake […]
January 29, 2023 — Reading about the heated and not terribly well-reasoned arguments people are having about obesity prompts a sad conclusion. A history of ineffective and, at times, harmful anti-obesity campaigns may have poisoned the well of public sentiment about obesity. People have such strong feelings that facts and reason become irrelevant. Aggrieved Advocates for People with Eating […]
December 13, 2022 — The American Diabetes Association is out with their new standards of care for 2023 and at the top of the list of seven major changes is a refined focus on obesity. Changes in medical care are subtle and slow. But when you look at how it has evolved over recent years, the shift in views […]
October 24, 2022 — On Friday, ASMBS and IFSO announced new clinical guidelines for obesity surgery – the first update to guidelines in more than 30 years. Way back in 1991, NIH published a consensus statement that established bariatric surgery as a safe and effective option for treating severe obesity. Needless to say, we’ve learned a lot about metabolic […]
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 […]
