November 10, 2024 — “It’s hard to wake up this morning . . . and not feel like the truth doesn’t matter anymore.” These are sentiments about public discourse in a recent election, but they shine a light on a fact that guides a great deal of discourse about nutrition and obesity. Facts are always important, but feelings carry […]
September 4, 2023 — Health systems seem adept at denial of care for the most prevalent chronic disease in America, obesity. To understand this, just look at the hurdles a patient must clear to receive that most effective treatment with the longest track record: metabolic surgery. The goal is to pick the people for surgery who will have the […]
September 3, 2023 — In the midst of an argument for lifestyle as the “cornerstone” for dealing with obesity, Frank Hu recently made a point with which we agree. He expressed the importance of GLP-1 agonists for obesity and warned that issues with access could bring wider health disparities. Because pricing of these drugs, health insurance, and weight-related biases […]
July 6, 2023 — “Whose fault is obesity? Most of the blame rests with one culprit.” In the Washington Post, Tamar Haspel perfectly captures the overwhelming compulsion to assign moral responsibility for obesity. She espouses a popular view: “The lion’s share – I’ll go with 61 percent (and, yes, of course I’m totally making this up to give some […]
October 26, 2022 — At the intersection of Halloween, inflation, and righteous demands to bring portion sizes under control, candy is shrinking this year. Candy prices are way up, with an average increase of 13 percent versus last year according to the U.S. Department of Labor. At the same time, candy makers are shrinking package sizes – both the […]
March 30, 2022 — Objectivity about the risks of drinking alcohol is not easy to find. Just like sweet beverages, alcohol has been part of human culture and a source of pleasure for thousands of years. An awareness of its health risks also has a very long history. Because humans can rationalize just about anything, we embrace assurances from […]
February 20, 2022 — The hate crimes trial of three White men in Georgia who chased down and killed a Black man when he ran through their neighborhood is coming to an end. Mercifully, we have not had to listen to any of them testify that they don’t have a racist or hateful bone in their body. But let’s […]
December 13, 2020 — “Any belief worth embracing will stand up to the litmus test of scrutiny. If we have to qualify, rationalize, make exceptions for, or turn a blind eye to maintain a belief, then it may well be time to release that belief.” Laurie Buchanan, PhD. This year has been a exploration of the capacity of humans […]
October 28, 2020 — It’s that time of year. Many people are picking health plans. For folks who get health insurance through their employer, that might mean looking through confusing options to pick the one that best suits their needs. For others with Medicare, that might mean choosing between insurance options that provide better coverage than bare bones Medicare. […]
