April 11, 2024 — Two decades ago, the state of Arkansas became the first in the nation to require every school to send parents BMI report cards – also known as fat letters. Back then, in 2003, the obesity rate for children in Arkansas was 17%. Since then, obesity in Arkansas public school students has risen dramatically. In the […]
March 31, 2024 — Narratives are powerful because humanity has a natural inclination to tell stories. We seek to understand our world through the stories we tell. But this sets up a problem for nutrition and obesity science. Appealing narratives untethered from the truth can take decades to recognize as misleading. All too often, this happens only after policymakers […]
January 22, 2024 — Breastfeeding is such a good idea. But unfortunately, it doesn’t do much to prevent obesity. No matter. On the subject of breastfeeding and preventing obesity in children, we have policy-based evidence – the answer is preset. A new paper in Pediatrics lines up with this. Based on yet another finding of an association between breastfeeding […]
December 16, 2023 — There’s no denying it. The U.S. House of Representatives has a tough time getting anything done right now. So how come whole milk is suddenly a political issue on which this unruly body can come together in a bipartisan vote? This week the House passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act to permit schools […]
May 16, 2023 — For decades, faith that healthy eating and active living would be sufficient to prevent obesity has motivated an impressive array of obesity prevention programs and research. But it has yielded very little in terms of measurable progress for reversing unhealthy trends. In the face of treatment options with dramatic efficacy gains, a crisis of faith […]
December 28, 2022 — If there’s no greater burden than high expectations, then food labels have a big load to carry. We keep expecting them to solve problems of unhealthy diets, obesity, and now perhaps climate change, too. A new study in JAMA Open Networks suggests fast food food menu labels might be an effective tool to help with […]
November 4, 2022 — For decades now, considerable resources have gone toward efforts to prevent the ongoing rise of obesity in the population. But with little success. It keeps on rising. So it seems reasonable to ask, do we have the tools we need for the task of effective obesity prevention? Professor Lisa Powell provided us with some mixed […]
October 30, 2022 — An apple a day keeps the doctor away. This 19th-century Welsh aphorism is a few steps behind the current zeal for medicalizing food. Food is medicine advocates are eager to see doctors prescribe produce, medically tailored groceries, or meals. It’s a big-tent concept that feels a little bit like a faith healing revival. Certainly, nutrition […]
September 10, 2022 — Is it possible to have objective dialogue about red meat and health? Is it easy to find? The simple answer is yes and no. In Lancet this year, a pair of letters tell the story of why it’s so hard. These letters concern weaknesses in a massive analysis of the global burden of disease from 2020 […]
September 2, 2022 — It’s barely September. Labor Day isn’t here yet. But pumpkin spice is all around us already. It’s not just Starbucks, it’s more than sugary coffee drinks, it’s in everything and the marketing intent is clear. Consume it! Even though health policy folks are still pushing soda taxes to fight obesity, we’re here to tell you […]
