November 9, 2019 — We’ve had our full dose of Las Vegas. But ObesityWeek has given us more to think about than shows and casinos. With record attendance of 5,800, it was more than any one person could absorb. No doubt, everyone has returned home with a different experience from ObesityWeek. So here are our ten top take-home messages. […]
November 8, 2019 — “I don’t have the answer, but I intend to be provocative.” With those words yesterday, Barbara Corkey opened her challenge to conventional thinking about obesity. After more than three decades, obesity prevalence keeps rising. Along with trend, diabetes rates are rising, too. Why have we so clearly failed to reduce obesity and diabetes? Perhaps we […]
October 31, 2019 — Get ready for sensory overload. We’re heading to Las Vegas where roughly 5,000 scientists and professionals will focus on obesity next week, all week. It’s overwhelming. So your best bet is to make your top-ten list now. Because once you get to Vegas, you better have a plan. Here’s our top ten to give you […]
October 24, 2019 — Applying the science of health outcomes research to social determinants of health is bringing surprising insights. In fact, for chronic diseases like obesity, heart failure, and diabetes, delivering better nutrition might do more than merely prescribing medicine can. Also, it seems to seems to offer good value for money. Food Is Medicine? This catchphrase sometimes […]
October 23, 2019 — We have an effective treatment for preventing diabetes. It cuts the risk by 60 percent in people with prediabetes. For every person on Medicare, it saves $2,650. In just 15 months. But Medicare can’t figure out how to make it available to the people who need it. This is the sad story of implementing the […]
October 18, 2019 — A new study in JAMA will be quite important for thinking about pregnancy and severe obesity. That’s because pregnancies for women with severe obesity carry a high risk for complications. Birth defects are more common with obesity. They’re also more common with poor glucose control that’s more likely when a pregnant woman has obesity. But […]
October 6, 2019 — Why is the switch so much more effective for reversing diabetes than gastric bypass? It’s an uncommon procedure more specifically known as biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. New research in Cell Metabolism provides some answers. Hint: it’s not all about the weight loss. Better Insulin Sensitivity Conventional wisdom holds that this procedure is simply a […]
September 21, 2019 — Holy grail? Game-changer? These superlatives were flying around as FDA approved Rybelsus – oral semaglutide – yesterday for type 2 diabetes. We don’t know about all that puffery, but it’s clear enough that this approval is a big deal. Oral semaglutide will be the first ever GLP-1 agonist in a pill. Up until now, taking […]
September 11, 2019 — A new study in Diabetologia tells us that shortness may heighten a person’s risk for type 2 diabetes. Over seven years, researchers observed a higher risk for type 2 diabetes among shorter people in a cohort of 2,500 individuals. Age, lifestyle, education, and waist circumference didn’t explain it. Even after accounting for those factors, the […]
September 4, 2019 — Is some knowledge ever enough? A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association begs that question. Researchers found that patients with diabetes and obesity were less likely to die or have other major bad outcomes if they have bariatric surgery. The list of bad outcomes includes heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, kidney […]
