Posts Tagged ‘observational research’

“Fake” Sugar, Speculation, and Health Reporting

March 9, 2023 — Reporting on supposed dangers of “fake” sugar is a self-replicating genre that seemingly never fades. The Washington Post this week published a prime example, telling readers: “The food industry says sugar substitutes help people manage their weight and reduce intake of added sugars. But studies suggest that fake sugars can also have unexpected effects on […]

How Much Does It Matter When You Exercise?

February 24, 2023 — The headlines make us dizzy. “For a longer life, afternoon exercise may be best,” says the Washington Post. “Morning Workouts May Lower Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke,” according to Verywell Health. However, BBC offers yet another view with a headline saying, “Best exercise time may differ for men and women.” Despite the wild variations […]

Is Better School Nutrition Helping with Obesity?

February 16, 2023 — Among folks concerned with obesity, nutrition, and health for kids, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) is a bright spot in the list of accomplishments on school nutrition. But until now, there was little evidence that this or anything else that fell under the umbrella of Let’s Move! had done much to move the needle […]

Bariatric Surgery: Longer Life, Certain Risks

January 26, 2023 — An impressive new study in Obesity, with up to 40 years of follow-up, confirms that the benefit of a longer life after bariatric surgery is durable, but it comes with certain risks. The authors of this study, led by Ted Adams, explain: “Results of this study attest to the decades-long durability of bariatric surgery in […]

Mediterranean Isn’t the Only Way to Eat Healthy

January 14, 2023 — Defining healthy eating is somewhat like trying to define art. Everyone thinks they know it when they see it, but actually pinning it down in specific terms is not so easy. Nonetheless, we keep on trying and much of the focus from thoughtful people is on healthy patterns of eating, not individual foods. The exemplar […]

Take the Stairs for a Longer Life?

December 9, 2022 — We have four levels in our home – three sets of stairs to climb. So this new study in Nature Medicine yesterday definitely has our attention. Digging into observational activity monitor data from the UK Biobank, Emmanuel Stamatakis and colleagues from all over the world found that short bursts of vigorous activity – like quickly […]

The Mythical Race Between Diet and Exercise

December 3, 2022 — You can’t outrun a bad diet. It’s a clever turn of phrase that resonates. But like many things that resonate about diet, exercise, and obesity, it might be a little too clever. In a very gentle way, David Allison, Dennis Bier, and Julie Locher point this out in a brief commentary appearing this week in […]

Looking for “Culprits” in Fast and Take-Out Food

June 18, 2022 — Two new studies in AJCN provide observations on the relationship between health outcomes and fast food, take-out, café, or home-cooked meals. These studies find an association of worse outcomes with fast food and take out. But the real question is, why? What are the causal relationships behind these observations? In an editorial, Barry Popkin suggests […]

Longer Lives for Coffee Drinkers: Coffee Is Medicine?

June 10, 2022 — The theme is a meme. Food is medicine. Exercise is medicine. Now yet again, a big study tells us that people who drink coffee live longer. So should we be on the lookout for a coffee is medicine campaign, funded by big java? Gosh, we hope not. Another Large Observational Study Stirring this subject up […]

Potatoes for Breakfast, Dark Vegetables for Supper?

March 17, 2022 — Should we be having potatoes for breakfast? An interesting new study this week adds to the evidence that when we eat different foods might matter for health outcomes as much as our choice of foods. Specifically, this research was an analysis of mortality in persons with diabetes based on NHANES data from 2003 to 2014. […]