October 10, 2021 — The numbers make it crystal clear. One of the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic will be a jump in child obesity. And it’s not hard to trace that back to the mental health of children and families. Late last week a new report in Pediatrics provided a stark reminder about the impact of COVID […]
March 5, 2021 — Focusing on childhood obesity for Obesity Care Week, we have a basic question are we ready to be helpful? Because truthfully, our record on this subject has been spotty. Way back in 1974, the Lancet told us “we need to be more vigilant in preventing obesity throughout childhood.” But since then, the prevalence of childhood […]
July 20, 2019 — Are we all sufficiently aware of our weight? Many answers might come to mind for such a broad question. Health professionals offer honest accounts of patients with severe obesity and no idea that it might have an effect on their health. Patients tell of health professionals who suggest all their symptoms are due to obesity […]
November 18, 2017 — BMI can be quite a useful screening tool, but it’s a lousy definition, by itself, for obesity. Want one more reason? Take a look at a new study by Hailey Banack and colleagues in Menopause. They’ve found that a BMI of 30 is not a reliable dividing line for obesity in women after menopause. Poor Sensitivity […]
June 9, 2017 — A new study in PLOS ONE looks at five ways to measure body proportions – including BMI – and proclaims a winner. It’s not BMI. The winner is waist to height ratio. WHtR beats BMI and other measures in this study because it’s a better stand-in for actually measuring excess visceral fat. Unleash the headlines. BMI […]
May 21, 2017 — Awareness raising sounds innocent enough. People are forever raising awareness about neglected diseases. Helping people recognize a problem can be a constructive step on the way to solving it – usually. And so it is that some well-intended folks are proposing “shock tactics” to promote obesity awareness. They want to compel parents in the UK to take […]
May 17, 2017 — Body Mass Index (BMI) is that essential tool we love to hate. As a marker for obesity in adults, BMI stirs never-ending debates. Despite its limitations, nothing seems likely to replace BMI for adults. But for young people, the story is very different. BMI doesn’t work so well for children and teens. And now, a […]
September 17, 2016 — Surveillance for obesity keeps popping up in the news this week. Caring for obesity? Not so much. The starting point was a study and commentary in Pediatrics that identified a potential problem with guidelines for universal BMI screening for childhood obesity. The problem is that once children are screened and labeled with the diagnosis of obesity, […]
