October 4, 2022 — Patterns. Much of what helps people form their ideas about the source of rising obesity around the world is the patterns they observe. Right now, patterns of ultra-processed food consumption over time – together with some impressive experimental evidence – leads many people to speculate that rising consumption of these foods might explain at least […]
August 18, 2022 — The tension between science and policy at CDC is inevitable. But that tension has never been in plain view more than during the COVID-19 pandemic. And so, citing a “botched” response to the pandemic, CDC director Rochelle Walensky says that she will launch a sweeping reorganization of the agency. Her announcement was thin on specifics. […]
August 23, 2021 — No two ways about it, we’re all getting a crash course in the uncertainty of science. It turns out that all those bumper stickers saying follow the science don’t mean exactly what we thought. Because COVID-19 is teaching us that the certainty we seek from science is not always there for us. Little more than […]
January 2, 2021 — New publications about the role of ultra-processed foods in health and food systems remind us about a missing dialogue. Food policy advocates are very clear that food systems should evolve to favor minimally processed food. Nutrition scientists know that ultra-processed foods have an association with poor health outcomes. But they also know that the science […]
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 6, 2020 — How are we doing these days on quizzes of true and false? In public affairs, it’s become quite a challenge. In nutrition and obesity science, the challenge is nothing new. Some things are clearly true. Obesity is a highly heritable condition, for one example. Other things are clearly false. For example, to lose one pound […]
August 4, 2020 — Just how important is bariatric surgery for someone living with obesity in the midst of a pandemic? We’re getting all kinds of advice about how to best take care of ourselves in this stressful time. Barely a day passes without another study confirming the reasons for concern. Obesity raises the risk for hospitalization and death […]
