June 27, 2020 — Early in the pandemic, CDC identified a higher risk for severe symptoms with COVID-19 in people with severe obesity. This week, the agency broadened its guidance to include all individuals with a BMI of 30 or greater. This is the epidemiologic benchmark for obesity – severe or not. What’s more, it’s a benchmark that describes […]
June 25, 2020 — Even if you missed the email, it’s not too late. June is Men’s Health Month, so we’re doing our part with the OAC to focus on what this really means. After all, men indeed have a lot to think about while COVID-19 lurks for us all. If you’re male and you get this nasty virus, […]
June 24, 2020 — “In your heart, you know he’s right.” That political tagline was a loser in 1964 and it ranks as one of ten worst of all time. But it’s even worse if such thinking is applied to science. A study seems to prove an important point at a critical moment. So it’s rushed into publication. Then […]
June 23, 2020 — Tamar Haspel tells a positively appealing story in the Washington Post this week. We don’t have a problem with obesity because of carbs, she writes. Nor fats, nor processed foods. The problem is the food environment. Cheap, convenient food surrounds us, with endless prompts to eat it. All these food cues, coaxing us to eat […]
June 22, 2020 — We are in a moment when life and death and race and ethnicity are forcing conversations that White people politely avoid. It’s uncomfortable. But the brutal deaths of Black people at the hands of police have become impossible to ignore. And in the COVID-19 pandemic, Black and Latino people are dying in numbers that make […]
June 20, 2020 — The concept of a traffic light diet is a mainstay for clinics that treat childhood obesity. It seems to be useful for shaping healthy childhood eating behaviors. In its Evidence Analysis Library, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics says it’s effective. In fact, it even says the evidence is strong for it. But if you […]
June 19, 2020 — In pharmaceuticals, a one-trick pony is doomed to oblivion. Some companies have a big hit with a successful drug and then struggle to follow up with more innovation. So patents expire and sales dwindle. The company with one-trick innovation fades away. But with solid clinical trial results announced yesterday for two new drugs in obesity, […]
June 17, 2020 — A randomized controlled trial (RCT) in surgery is quite a challenge. For good reason, people are reluctant to sign up for a study in which they might randomly get surgery. Or not. Surgery is a big decision and leaving it to chance doesn’t sit well with most people. Yet an RCT is the very best […]
June 16, 2020 — This is a problem that makes your brain hurt. We face an acute threat with COVID-19. New data from CDC tells us that chronic diseases amplify that risk. In fact, the risk of death is 12 times higher for people who have chronic diseases – diabetes, heart disease, severe obesity, or a host of other […]
June 13, 2020 — So simple. Dariush Mozaffarian has the answer for preventing problems with COVID-19. Eat healthier and move more. That’s it. According to him, the response to COVID-19, as impressive as it’s been, has been inadequate. He wants to know why governors aren’t telling everybody to exercise more every day and “eat a little bit healthier.” It […]
