April 19, 2024 — Perhaps it was inevitable. Last week, the Times plunged into stereotypes about obesity care and gender, asking “Is the era of ‘Brozempic’ upon us?” The spark for the story comes from the efforts of telehealth businesses trying to crack the code for reaching men with concerns about obesity. It can be awkward. The cultural baggage […]
June 15, 2023 — BMI seems to be everyone’s favorite target for abuse these days. Depending on whom you listen to, it’s racist, sexist, useless, or useful. Nobody really stands up for it, except as an simple, objective measure of weight for height. Now, the AMA decided to caution doctors about the misuse of BMI as a surrogate for […]
April 13, 2019 — Beware. Gendered generalizations will almost always get you into trouble. But they surround us. And in the Washington Post, Monica Hesse points out Twitter founder Jack Dorsey can utter meaningless drivel about what to eat and it’s a “biohack.” However, from a female opportunist – say, Gwyneth Paltrow – it’s simply whacky. Hack or whack? […]
April 25, 2018 — Obesity affects men and women differently. It’s an obvious fact – whether you’re living with obesity yourself or you care for people living with it. But discussions of weight stigma and fat shaming often focus almost exclusively on women. This needs to change. New research published in Obesity this week makes it clear that shaming and […]
January 27, 2018 — We eat for many reasons, and one of those reasons is pleasure. Beautiful, appetizing food beckons us, even when we’re not physically hungry. Researchers label those qualities of food as hedonics. Food marketers know that these are the qualities that sell their products. And now, neuroscience suggests that women may be more sensitive than men […]
August 21, 2017 — Obesity is a very different experience for men and women. From an early age, weight and body image are front and center for women. By far, most participants in obesity studies are women. And roughly 80% of bariatric surgery patients are women. So a new study of the stories men tell about weight and health […]
December 14, 2014 — As if we needed it, a new study in the BMJ appears to prove that men, indeed, are idiots. The authors explain: This paper reviews the data on winners of the Darwin Award over a 20 year period (1995-2014). Winners of the Darwin Award must eliminate themselves from the gene pool in such an idiotic […]
