May 11, 2024 — We are living in an amazing time for people who live with obesity. But it is also a time when harsh inequities in health grow wider because of obesity, even though innovation could be bringing brighter prospects for everyone who is vulnerable to this chronic disease. But inequitable access to care might instead be amplifying […]
July 3, 2023 — A new Mendelian randomization study brings a disciplined look at the question of why social and economic status correlates with lifespan. Such questions are hard to answer with certainty, so this new publication in Nature Human Behavior is quite welcome. Chao-Jie Ye and colleagues found a causal association between education and longevity in populations of […]
January 15, 2021 — To be an educator might not mean much for a person’s income. But it confers tremendous power over the lives of students and thus our communities. Two publications this week remind us of the great power that educators have – for better or worse – in weight bias. Affirmation by a Teacher In a video […]
December 23, 2019 — The Colorado Board of Education will need to wrap its mind around the unintended consequences of good intentions for nutrition education. This comes from the case of a high school student with body image concerns made worse after a calorie tracking assignment at school. As a result, she wound up with a 10-week stay in […]
February 26, 2019 — “All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast,” according to author and journalist John Gunter. It also helps with academic achievement and school attendance. However, despite the fervent wishes of the breakfast fan club, breakfast is not the cure for obesity. If you have any doubt, you’re just not paying attention. And a new study today […]
September 28, 2015 — A good friend pointed us to a recent commentary that carries the title of “The Elephant in the (Class) Room: Campus Obesity.” The choice of words got our attention and lurking below the surface were a number of issues: weight bias, false assumptions about obesity, and problems with peer review are at the top of the list. The […]
January 15, 2015 — Surprises sometimes offer the best learning. Head Start was not explicitly designed as an childhood obesity prevention program. Launched in 1965, it was conceived long before we had an epidemic of childhood obesity. It was aimed to deliver early childhood education and promote good nutrition, health, and parental involvement for children from low income families And […]
