NEWS

Today in Nature Medicine, compelling new research tells that long-term outcomes with metabolic surgery are superior to the outcomes with GLP-1 agonists in persons with diabetes and obesity. These are impressive and important results. But we have to wonder if anyone is really listening. The enthusiasm for advanced obesity medicines is so great that many […]

A new study in Lancet suggests that we are overdue for fresh thinking about early childhood obesity prevention. This is because programs built upon a premise of engaging parents in the effort turn out to be ineffective. The conclusions of this research are stark: “This study is the most comprehensive individual participant data meta-analysis in […]

The attention economy has been getting a lot of, well, attention lately. In fact, the phenomenon is nothing new. People have been competing for the attention of Americans since the rise of cheap daily newspapers in the 19th century. But lately it seems that the quest to command attention is taking over more and more […]

This week brought us a new report from the MAHA Commission, calling it “a sweeping plan with more than 120 initiatives to reverse the failed policies that fueled America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic.” But on reflection, it seems like MAHA bluster met the reality of health policy and turned into something that looks more like […]

Honestly, we share the underlying concern. Rising global temperature are a threat to our health and welfare. But twisting a scientific paper to make the point doesn’t help. It actually hurts the cause. New research in Nature Climate Change documents an association between added sugar consumption and rising temperatures. That’s a fair question to study. […]

Toxic is one of those clickbait words that ironically fuels poisonous rhetoric on the very nuanced subject of food and health. Insert “toxic” into a conversation and nuance will disappear. Robert Lustig famously used the word “toxic” to inject hyperbole into food policy when he proclaimed that sugar is toxic. Now we have a demagogue […]

It’s almost funny. Except it’s not. This is deadly serious for people whose entire lives are shaped by obesity – people who need better access to care. The influential Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) issued a new draft report on the cost effectiveness of semaglutide and tirzepatide. In a nutshell, the report says […]

The progress we have witnessed in 25 years of working on obesity care has been nothing short of remarkable. Especially in the last four years with the introduction of advanced new obesity medicines. But let’s step back from the minutia of research, clinical care, and policy, to look at the big challenges that remain. When […]

For a long time, the relatively few people with deep commitment to obesity care knew that multimodal therapy was necessary. Bariatric surgery centers of excellence assembled teams to deliver nutrition, mental health, and physical therapy support. But persistence with follow-up was often disappointing. Now, though, something different is emerging. Suddenly, multimodal therapy is the hot […]

When scientists cracked the human genome in 2003 – sequencing the entire genetic code of a human being – many expected it would unlock the secrets of disease. But genetics explained only about 10% of the risk. The other 90% lies in the environment – and diet plays a huge part. Worldwide, poor diet is […]