Posts Tagged ‘evidence-based policy’

The Correct Answer Is Breastfeeding. What’s the Question?

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 […]

Is Whole Milk Becoming a Bipartisan Political Cause?

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 […]

ECO2023: Ready for a Rethink of Prevention?

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 […]

Saving the Planet with Fast Food Menu Labels

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 […]

OW2022: Can We Prevent Obesity?

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 […]

Medicalizing Food, Marginalizing Obesity Care

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 […]

Objective Dialogue About Red Meat and Health?

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 […]

How About a Pumpkin Spice Tax to Fight Obesity?

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 […]

Fast Food and Obesity, Presumptions and Facts

August 20, 2022 — Fast food and junk food are slippery and pejorative terms that many people equate with a risk of obesity. Most people – even people who routinely consume it – presume that fast food is not good for health. With the release of Super Size Me in 2004, we seemed to hit a peak in the […]

CDC Reorganizes, Science and Policy Rumble

August 18, 2022 — The tension between science and policy at CDC is inevitable. But that tension has never been in plain view more than during the COVID-19 pandemic. And so, citing a “botched” response to the pandemic, CDC director Rochelle Walensky says that she will launch a sweeping reorganization of the agency. Her announcement was thin on specifics. […]