May 30, 2023 — Let’s talk about lame excuses for denial of care in obesity. Writing in Quartz yesterday, Analisa Merelli explained the challenge obesity treatment presents for health insurer. The challenge comes down to this: “The line between healthcare and lifestyle can be blurry.” In this way of thinking, insurance companies must decide if the intentions are right […]
August 25, 2020 — Having obesity is not a lifestyle. Obesity is a chronic disease. But not having obesity is a lifestyle. In fact, it’s a lifestyle that sets a person free from years of having major chronic diseases. Like obesity. This is the logic Solja Nyberg, Archana Singh-Manoux, and Mika Kivimäki offer us in JAMA Internal Medicine this […]
May 5, 2020 — Weight talk can be hazardous to one’s mental health. Right now, we hear a lot of it in connection with the coronavirus lockdown. But perhaps it’s utterly pointless. Because the folks who make digital scales at Withings tell us they can see little evidence of excessive quarantine weight gain right now. The company released an […]
April 7, 2020 — We’re seeing a weird mashup of pandemic wellness. At one end of the spectrum, wellness entrepreneurs are making smooth pitches to soothe pampered souls who see this whole coronavirus thing as a disturbing nuisance. A disruption in their carefully curated lives. Then, we also glimpse the frantic professional class trying to cope with daycare that […]
September 1, 2018 — Yes, you can spot neighborhoods with high obesity rates from outer space. But it’s not about the people you can see. It’s about the physical features of neighborhoods that provide clues about where obesity lives. A new paper in JAMA Network Open explains. Spotting Features That Predict More Obesity Adyasha Maharana and Elaine Okanyene Nsoesie […]
December 7, 2017 — Here’s a case study for the ages. In the midst of our relentless obesity epidemic, consumers have made a massive shift in attitudes about weight and health. Suddenly, weight management brands found themselves at risk. The biggest brand – Weight Watchers – faced the greatest risk. And now it seems to be emerging in a new, […]
October 18, 2015 — Folks from UCLA are poking a hole in the popular notion that getting enough sleep is a particular problem of modern industrial societies. By studying hunter-gatherers in three remote communities of Africa and South America, they found that even in a pre-industrial society, getting that magic eight hours of sleep is not really typical. Instead, they […]
March 13, 2013 — New long-term data from people with severe obesity (BMI ≥40) and diabetes in the Look AHEAD study shows that lifestyle interventions can make a big difference. Compared to patients with lower BMI (25-29), those with severe obesity lost a significantly higher percent of their weight, 4.9%, after four years in the study. Patients with severe obesity […]
