March 26, 2023 — Food is medicine, say folks in certain food policy circles, and we have an abundant supply of it – especially in the U.S. So why is it true in this country that we have more food, find less joy in it, and live shorter lives? Eating More, Enjoying It Less, Losing Years of Life American […]
September 30, 2022 — With the benefit of a few days to reflect, we can find value in the big White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger, and Health. Admittedly, it was nice to see obesity clearly identified as one of the diseases – just like hypertension and diabetes – that can result from poor nutrition. But this was never […]
September 15, 2021 — New data on poverty came out this week and oddly enough, the news was pretty good. Though many aspects of 2020 were really stinky, this data on poverty is pretty sweet. In fact, after accounting for government relief payments, the U.S. poverty rate fell to its lowest rate ever – 9.1 percent. This good news […]
August 27, 2021 — Over the last three decades, high blood pressure has doubled around the world, driven in large part by obesity and poverty. These conclusions come from a new study published this week in Lancet. Obesity, a key risk factor for hypertension, is growing all over the world. But high income countries have been able to control […]
April 8, 2021 — Anecdotal reports have been coming for some time. As early as June, research reports told us COVID-19 was changing the patterns of life for children in ways that could make obesity worse. Then it was speculation. But now, the data is coming in and it really does not look good. A new report in Pediatrics […]
September 28, 2020 — The CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, is offering up wisdom for the world on obesity in the New York Times. The whole world is getting fat, he says. But according to him, it’s definitely not a problem of access to healthful foods: “People have got to become wiser about their food choices. And if […]
April 3, 2020 — New Orleans is in a world of hurt right now. That’s because COVID-19, obesity, disparities, and denial have come together and contributed to a grotesque catastrophe. The city leads all other cities in the U.S. on deaths per capita from COVID-19. Obesity and the complications of untreated obesity are important factors. As of yesterday, out […]
June 2, 2019 — Universal basic income is generating some buzz in this election cycle. Presidential candidate Andrew Yang is pushing this idea of a guaranteed income for every adult. No strings attached. But Alaska already has it. Since 1983, the state’s Permanent Fund Dividend has provided an annual, unconditional, and universal income to Alaskans. What’s more, economists are […]
December 15, 2018 — We’ve noted it before. The relationship between income and obesity is tricky. And according to a new paper from Alexander Bentley and colleagues, the relationship is very new. As recently as 1990, they say, it simply wasn’t there. Today, it’s quite clear. Less income predicts more obesity. Likewise, the correlation between income and diabetes is […]
August 15, 2018 — It’s an easy mistake to make. “It’s poverty, not individual choice that is driving extraordinary obesity levels,” writes Martin Cohen in The Conversation. That seems like a reasonable sentiment. But it’s not quite true. A Messy Correlation The truth is that poverty can predict a higher risk of obesity – in some cases. But not all. […]
