October 3, 2020 — Coronavirus fatigue. Many people were tired of thinking constantly about this virus until our president seized our attention on Friday with the news that he has it. Suddenly we have renewed energy for this subject. And one sidebar to this topic is the president’s risk for severe symptoms. “Trump is 74, male and obese,” says […]
September 22, 2020 — The pandemic has left some businesses hurting while giving others a boost. For example, restaurants are hurting, but the business of selling alcohol is having a boom time. People are drinking up during this pandemic. Sooner or later, though, we’ll have to pay the tab. And the real cost may be to our health, warns […]
September 18, 2020 — More experience with COVID-19 tells us that the relationship between COVID-19 and cardiometabolic health is more than a passing thing. It starts with the risk that obesity confers for worse outcomes with COVID-19. That was the first clue. But that’s not the end of it. Because people are learning that the effects of COVID-19 can […]
September 3, 2020 — The government has recently announced a strategy aimed at reducing obesity in the UK. It will introduce a ban on unhealthy food advertisements on TV before a certain hour, end “buy one, get one free” junk food deals, and create more comprehensive calorie contents on food and drinks. The government has also launched the Better […]
August 31, 2020 — It’s a wildly popular catchphrase in this age of COVID-19. Follow the science. The video on the right is packed with cautionary tales by Rohin Francis. In short, he explains that when policy makers say they’re following the science, it’s often a fiction. Mangling the science might be a more apt description. Mangling the Science […]
August 16, 2020 — Who knew that Boris Johnson was a secret fan of Michelle Obama? If imitation is sincere flattery, we see some flattery of her in the new Better Health campaign coming from the NHS. Let’s Move! has become Let’s Do This! So the UK is on a crash course of self-directed weight loss, with a little […]
July 20, 2020 — Anticipation is growing. A UK obesity plan is coming soon from Boris Johnson’s administration. Johnson has latched onto a conviction that Britain must slim down to fare better in the next wave of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not a bad idea. But will it be all about inspiration and exhortation? Or instead, will it bring […]
June 18, 2020 — In ordinary times, yesterday’s meeting of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee would have been big news. They were supposed to unveil their draft report. But instead, the meeting came and went with a small thud. That’s because everyone has already staked out a position and they’re digging in. Also, it’s fair to say that […]
June 9, 2020 — The expectations are low, so it’s not getting much attention. The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is trying to wrap up its work on a report. That report goes into a black box at FDA and USDA. Then sometime around the end of the year, the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will pop out from […]
May 28, 2020 — It’s an odd irony. New data, released yesterday from the Kaiser Family Foundation, tells us that people are skipping healthcare because of the COVID-19 health crisis. In fact, roughly half (48 percent) of Americans say they or someone in their household have postponed healthcare due to the pandemic. One in five (23 percent) of those […]
