Posts Tagged ‘politics’

Forget Cake – Let Them Eat Whole Foods

February 1, 2025 — The sincerity and passion of Dariush Mozaffarian is easy to recognize and admire. His deep belief in the opportunity for good food to make us healthier is familiar. It echoes the impassioned pitch of a politician before Senate hearings this week. Too many Americans have too many “diet-related” diseases. Time’s a wastin’! Let them all […]

Anthony Fauci Pardoned for Being an Eminent Scientist

January 21, 2025 — In case you missed it, we are going through a transition in American government. Unlike four years ago, this one is peaceful and we can look forward to four years of a different approach to government in the United States. One of the most unusual facets of this turning point was an eminent scientist, Anthony […]

An Easy Win on Obesity for a New Administration

January 13, 2025 — Many years of working on obesity has taught us one thing. Success does not come easily. And yet in this new year, it appears that the new administration in Washington will have an opportunity to claim an easy win on obesity. CMS has a new rule for obesity drugs that can become final in the […]

Arugulazempic: The Coming Word Salad of Health Policy

January 3, 2025 — “Yes, by all means, let’s eat more arugula. But let’s not turn our back on the role of human ingenuity in making America healthier.” This is how Rich Lowry, Editor in Chief of the National Review, tried this week to make sense of the coming salad of health policy that we will call arugulazempic. Give […]

A Rise in Unreasonable Doubts About Health Science

December 29, 2024 — In recent years, a troubling trend has emerged – a growing distrust in health science, particularly in fields like nutrition and obesity. This skepticism isn’t just about healthy debate or constructive criticism. It’s about an erosion of confidence in scientific expertise. In the age of social media and viral misinformation, unreasonable doubts have real consequences […]

A Plea for Humility

December 25, 2024 — In so much of the news and public life today, humility seems to be in short supply. Hubris and cruelty are not. “It’s remarkable how often ambition becomes cruelty. In our self-delusion, we persuade ourselves that we’re not just right but that we’re so clearly right that opposition has to be rooted in arrogance and […]

Get Ready for a Big Fuss About Alcohol and Health

December 18, 2024 — The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a new, exhaustive report yesterday on alcohol and health. Anticipating pressure for stronger advice against drinking alcohol in the 2025 edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Congress asked for this report – perhaps to provide a rationale for toning down any such strong advice. More or […]

Will a “Radical Left Lunatic” Actually “Go Wild” on Health?

December 1, 2024 — One of the more colorful nominations the U.S. president-elect has made is certainly, from our perspective, Robert F. Kennedy Jr for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Described by Donald Trump as a “radical left lunatic” earlier this year, Kennedy is now getting the nod from Trump to “go wild on health and dramatically shake […]

Are We Feeling Grateful Yet? We Have Good Reasons

November 28, 2024 — Nope. We didn’t get our way on everything this year. But it’s not too hard to count up reasons for feeling grateful as we start this day of Thanksgiving. Of course, we have personal reasons for feeling gratitude – health, happiness, friends, family, and the privilege of serving a purpose beyond ourselves. More specifically, though, […]

Breaking: CMS Proposes Opening Medicare to Obesity Meds

November 26, 2024 — Well, this is exciting. The news just flashed across our screen that the outgoing Biden administration is proposing to open up Medicare and Medicaid to coverage for obesity meds. Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator of the Centers Medicare and Medicaid Services, said: “We don’t want to see people having to wait until they have these additional diseases […]