Posts Tagged ‘wellness’

A casual reading of consumer health advice provides a mountain of tips about “stress-busting” diets. Health.com, for instance, offers up “12 superfoods for stress relief.” But a new study suggests that we might have this concept reversed. In a randomized controlled trial, investigators observed that stressors might blunt the benefits of a healthful meal. The researchers randomized their subjects between […]

The American Heart Association is promoting an analysis from its journal that suggests regular exercise can save money. In fact, the authors of this study find that medical expenses are about $2,500 lower annually for people who meet current guidelines for regular exercise. That’s at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. The […]

We now have enough regulations on the subject of employer wellness programs to make your head spin. EEOC recently released final regs for wellness programs to comply with the ADA, GINA, and ACA. Some in the wellness industry complain that it’s too hard now to penalize people with chronic diseases for failing to make themselves […]

In scientific advisories, obscurity and equivocation abound more than clarity. So the latest advisory from the American Heart Association (AHA) provides more elegant advice than most: “sit less and move more.” True, the advisory goes on for 11 pages before it gets to that punch line. But at least it has a punch line. Here’s the thing. […]

We hear much and write much about some of the appalling experiences of people with obesity when they interact with healthcare professionals. And most of the time, primary care providers just avoid the subject. But perhaps the most frustrating experience comes when a professional dismisses a patient who is seeking advice. “Just keep doing what you’re […]

Breakfast has been through a lot lately. Skeptics have demoted it from “the most important meal of the day” to the “most marketed meal of the day.” It’s been knocked around by changing nutrition fashion trends on cholesterol, carbs, and protein. It’s been asked to last all day long and prop up flagging sales at McDonald’s. A morning meal was mainly […]

As public interest in concepts of healthy eating and now “clean eating” has grown, health and nutrition professionals have begun recognize that an obsession with healthy eating can become pathological. In 1997, Stephen Bratman first described orthorexia nervosa in Yoga Journal as a “the health food eating disorder.” Unfortunately, almost 20 years later, experts are still struggling […]

When perverse ideas about incentives for health fall apart, everyone can celebrate. Today we celebrate one that is losing support: penalizing employees for obesity. For several years now, certain elements of the wellness industry have been pushing the idea that obesity could be reversed by imposing financial penalties on employees who don’t weight what their employers say they […]

A nutrition policy food fight is bubbling over in the UK, precipitated by a report from two UK charities: the National Obesity Forum and the Public Health Health Collaboration. The report advances a rather simple recommendation: “Eat fat, cut the carbs, and avoid snacking to reverse obesity and type 2 diabetes.” In case that miracle cure does not […]

The alkaline diet certainly sounds sciency. And the Washington Post says it’s a “celebrity diet trend that actually has some science behind it.” On the other hand, the claims for this diet plan are pretty broad. They include cleansing the body of toxins, resetting pH balance, increased energy, healthier bones, chronic disease prevention, and weight loss. Nutrition professor […]