June 21, 2024 — This week in JAMA, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published an evidence review and recommendation for youth with obesity. In a word, it is disappointing. The task force seems to have completely lost touch with advances in obesity care in young persons. They recommend only that youth with a BMI in the […]
September 22, 2022 — Problems are messy, so to solve them, humans quite naturally move to make them tidy. We sort them, label them, and get to work on resolving them. But news this week reminds us that health issues often resist our efforts to sort them out and find tidy solutions. The USPSTF this week published a draft […]
July 3, 2022 — The script is clear enough. Childhood obesity is a “serious and growing concern.” Its effects can be “devastating,” say the authors of a recent commentary on USPSTF guidelines for it. So the script from the USPSTF tells pediatricians that they should screen for obesity starting at the age of six and refer children to behavioral […]
August 28, 2021 — Half a loaf is better than none, wrote John Heywood in his 1546 book of proverbs. So should we be thrilled that the USPSTF is making a “huge” change to diabetes screening for people with overweight and obesity? Or is this only a half-measure that will do nothing if people don’t have access to care […]
July 4, 2021 — This is a day for Americans to celebrate independence. Though the holiday marks independence from a colonial power, Americans invest a lot in a broader concept of independence. Dependence on others for many things – including care for health – is essential for strong communities, and yet Americans celebrate a spirit of independence. It wasn’t […]
April 14, 2021 — To prevent health problems across the population, what should we do? Answering that question is the job of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. It’s been seven years since the USPSTF looked at screening for vitamin D levels. Since vitamin D has been a hot topic in the COVID-19 pandemic, a new update in JAMA […]
March 18, 2021 — This week, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a new draft recommendation on screening for diabetes and pre-diabetes for people with a high BMI. Until now, the recommendation has been to screen everyone with a BMI over 25 at age 40 and up. But the new recommendation, if it becomes final, would expand […]
May 13, 2014 — The USPSTF (Unites States Preventative Services Task Force) has published yet another recommendation for obesity treatment — in draft form. The recommendation is behavioral counseling for people with heart disease risk and excess weight or obesity. Dietitians and other weight management professionals, take note. This will create yet more opportunities to help people with excess weight […]
