July 9, 2022 — Obesity prevalence is rising all over the world. But in different cultures and different countries, tremendous variations in obesity are striking. Countries of eastern Asia tend to have very low obesity prevalence. Japan, for example, has an obesity rate of just five percent, according to the World Obesity Federation. Meanwhile, obesity prevalence stands at 43 […]
April 29, 2022 — What roles do racism and segregation play in the disparate obesity risk for children from some racial and ethnic groups face? Is it race or place that is driving these disparities? How concerned should we be about the trends toward increasing school segregation evident in many regions of the U.S.? These are questions for which […]
January 11, 2022 — Some of the biggest and most read stories of 2021 were about new and better insights into human metabolism. Now it looks like the flood of information will flow into 2022. Already we have two new papers to digest. One, from evolutionary biologist Thomas Kraft and colleagues, offers new thinking on how humans evolved to […]
June 12, 2020 — The distinction between correlation and causality is basic to any serious scientist. But in PLOS Genetics yesterday, scientists toss it out the window. Yanyan Wu et al found an association between breastfeeding and obesity. Then they lept to claim cause and effect. Right up front in their title, they make the bold claim. “Exclusive breastfeeding […]
February 19, 2020 — A new study this week in Pediatrics for the first time shows that children with late bedtimes have a higher risk of obesity. That association is even stronger if a child has parents with obesity. It’s not totally clear what this tells us – if anything – about cause and effect. But it’s reasonably clear […]
