June 8, 2023 — Typically, Ruth Marcus writes about justice for the Washington Post. But this week, she posted a very personal essay – “the most personal piece I have ever written” – about her experience with taking Ozempic. More than just a testimonial about the life-changing effects of better obesity care, it became an exploration of the interaction […]
December 27, 2022 — It’s nothing new. Overwhelmingly and for a long time it has been true that obesity care is mainly available to the few and the wealthy. This is the inevitable result of multiple forms of bias that collide in the chronic disease of obesity. Healthcare has a bias for serving the the wealthy. Health systems also […]
October 10, 2022 — Sunday at FNCE brought us a fireside chat with Sara Bleich, the first ever Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity. Make no mistake about it, this is big. Because without secure access to genuinely nourishing food, it will be terribly hard to close the gap in health that comes from chronic diseases – including […]
September 30, 2022 — With the benefit of a few days to reflect, we can find value in the big White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger, and Health. Admittedly, it was nice to see obesity clearly identified as one of the diseases – just like hypertension and diabetes – that can result from poor nutrition. But this was never […]
September 20, 2022 — Global food systems are putting more food – and more nutritious food – within within the reach of more people than ever before. But what are the outcomes for human and environmental health? For nutrition and equity? Frankly it’s a mixed picture. Food systems have evolved all over the world to crank out sufficient calories […]
August 25, 2022 — Perhaps you’ve heard. Next month, the White House will host a new conference on hunger, nutrition, and health. The goal of this conference is promising: “End hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, so that fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.” We like the implicit acknowledgement that obesity […]
July 4, 2022 — We like to think of America as a place of mercy and grace. In America the Beautiful, Katharine Lee Bates calls on God to shed his grace on this country that celebrates its birth today. But reflecting on these words and current expressions of public values about health and wellbeing, we have to wonder. How […]
April 23, 2022 — The buzzwords are flying. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is such a common theme that all you have to say is “DEI” and people will nod solemnly. The same goes for social determinants of health – SDOH. However, the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) has gone further to connect the two and identify some real […]
November 8, 2021 — At ObesityWeek®, we noticed a subtle shift. In past years, health policy discussions have sometimes been stuck on very detailed food fights. But this year, it seems that such food fights were less in the foreground. Instead, we saw a much greater focus than ever before on health equity, disparities, and the people who are […]
October 23, 2021 — Jessica Nordell describes something like a quest in her new book, The End of Bias. “When I began this book, I thought I was writing a work of science. My plan was to read, study, synthesize the best evidence, and share what I found. The journey would be straightforward; it would be scientific and outward-facing […]
