Posts Tagged ‘misinformation’

When public figures talk about science, the stakes are high. So when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently asserted that research shows a ketogenic diet can “cure” schizophrenia, it was more than a casual misstatement. It was a distortion that risks misleading patients, families, and clinicians confronting one of the most serious mental illnesses in medicine. […]

“People who come off slimming jabs regain weight four times faster than dieters.” The year is young, but already we have this contender for the dumbest headline of the year about obesity. It is helpful only as a reminder of how pervasive the implicit bias about obesity and its treatment is. Slimming Jabs? The headline […]

Saturated fats are bad. But wait, our health secretary has been teasing us with vows that new dietary guidelines will advise us they’re not. Nutrition experts are in a tizzy. We merely shake our heads at another dietary generalization going up in smoke – reinforcing the timeless thought that all generalizations are wrong. Yes, even […]

At a press event last week, announcing a deal to make obesity medicines more affordable, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz told us “Americans will lose 135 billion pounds by the midterms” because of this. Comedian Stephen Colbert pointed out a problem with the numbers. They imply that every single American will be losing 393 pounds. It […]

It isn’t easy. But it is getting better. The OAC Your Weight Matters (YWM) Convention is getting underway in earnest this morning with a full program of education, support, and advocacy for all of the people affected by obesity. This occasion celebrates 20 years of the OAC’s work. Yesterday, early arrivers set out on Capitol […]

New research at Nutrition 2025 used blood markers to measure linoleic acid levels and their relation to cardiometabolic risk. The results add to the evidence that this omega-6 fatty acid may help to lower risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Annoyingly, the facts of these findings challenge deeply held beliefs that seed oils […]

The last legitimate path for GLP-1 compounding closes on May 22 and consumer protection advocates are worried about rabbit holes opening up to exploit the desperation of some patients. Yesterday, the National Consumer League (NCL) released survey results to suggest a great deal of confusion and misinformation about off-brand versions of GLP-1 medicines. Perhaps more […]

“Political cynicism is rising in many democracies throughout the world.” Explaining this, Ariel Hasell, Audrey Halversen, and Brian Weeks ascribe it to the influence of social media and demonstrate it with data from the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The trouble is that when cynicism proliferates, everything seems like B.S. So this week when Education Secretary […]

Stuff happens. That was the response of a cynical U.S. health secretary last week to the needless death of a child from measles in the midst of an outbreak growing worse in Texas and New Mexico. The situation tells us the cost of cynicism can be death – in this case, the death of an […]

In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged – a growing distrust in health science, particularly in fields like nutrition and obesity. This skepticism isn’t just about healthy debate or constructive criticism. It’s about an erosion of confidence in scientific expertise. In the age of social media and viral misinformation, unreasonable doubts have real consequences […]