July 2, 2024 — This is one of the most robust and enduring myths of food policy. The mythology holds that the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods is clear, but many consumers are confused about it. So if we can educate, persuade, cajole, or nudge them toward buying more of those healthy foods and less of the unhealthy […]
July 10, 2022 — “You oughta wanna do better.” That sums up the feelings evoked by a disturbing number of guidelines for health and wellness. This feeling comes when the guidelines conflict jarringly with the lived reality of many or most people. When guidelines become a prompt for finger wagging, they won’t move the needle on population health in […]
March 6, 2022 — The law of the instrument suggests that the tool at hand when a problem presents itself seems like the right one to use. When all we have is a hammer, everything looks a bit more like a nail. So we pound it. And in the healthy living industry (aka wellness) we have quite a hammer. […]
December 5, 2021 — Who can possibly argue with the virtue of healthy choices? And yet, that’s precisely what Anita Sreedhar and Anand Gopal are doing in a provocative commentary about the root of our problems in coping with a public health emergency. Much of the world has fallen into a trap: walking away from the common good of […]
April 2, 2020 — Believe it or not, we are still in the early days of coping with the pandemic of COVID-19. Yes, if you live in New York City or Italy or China, you might think you’re well into it. But the truth is that the effect of this biological disaster will come in waves. It’s going to […]
August 14, 2019 — WW is stepping out on a limb and we hope the world is ready for it. Not quite a year after walking away from its identity as Weight Watchers, it’s taking a bold step. WW is rolling out Kurbo by WW for kids 8-17 with excess weight and obesity. Is this something that can be […]
August 17, 2016 — Self help literature is full of advice for living in the moment. But when it comes to shaping better dietary patterns, planning ahead, not choosing in the moment, makes for better eating. If you want to understand why, look to the marketers who devote their careers to understanding how to prompt the impulse to consume. […]
