Posts Tagged ‘public health messaging’

Is Childhood Obesity a Public Health Emergency?

September 14, 2023 — Epidemic, pandemic, syndemic, crisis, emergency: well-meaning people attach these words to obesity in general and often to childhood obesity in particular. Two decades ago, Cara Ebbeling, Dorota Pawlak, and David Ludwig proclaimed in Lancet that childhood obesity was a “public health crisis” and prescribed a “common sense cure.” But a new perspective published yesterday in Pediatrics […]

RCT: Gross Pics on Beverage Labels Deter Purchases

February 2, 2022 — PLOS Medicine has quite a good new study of gross pictures on beverage labels to deter purchases of sugary drinks. It is a randomized, controlled study which proves quite convincingly that gross pictures deter purchases of beverages when they appear prominently on labels. Mission accomplished. Our only quibble would be with the meaning these researchers […]

Distinguishing Empowerment, Empathy, and Pity

May 12, 2021 — Two days into a week of intense meetings about obesity science and policy at #ECO2021 and #COS7, one thing is hard to miss. The quality of research and analysis is strong. But people living with obesity are front and center. In fact, we see strong confident voices for persons living with obesity. Not sad victims. […]

Equity and Misinformation on COVID Vaccination

January 31, 2021 — Let’s face it. At the moment, COVID vaccination is a mess. Anti-vaxxers briefly shut down a vaccination site at Dodgers Stadium yesterday. “Save your soul, turn back now,” said their placards. Nonetheless, millions are desperate to get the vaccine. But demand vastly outstrips supply for now. So disparities are popping up as people with power, […]