Obesity not defined by weight, says new Canada guideline

Obesity should be defined by a person’s health – not just their weight, says a new Canadian clinical guideline.

“The dominant cultural narrative regarding obesity fuels assumptions about personal irresponsibility and lack of willpower and casts blame and shame upon people living with obesity,” the guideline, which is intended to be used by primary care physicians in diagnosing and treating obesity in their daily practice, states.

Read full article here.

What Decades of (Sometimes Dodgy) Dietary Advice Made Us Do

In September, a team of researchers made a well-publicized recommendation that people start eating… about as much red meat as they already eat. This was not based on any new medical findings, and was described by its authors as a “weak recommendation” with “low-certainty evidence.”

This new advice is part of a broader backlash against how nutritional research is conducted and communicated.

Read full article here.

Why Isn’t There a Diet That Works for Everyone?

About 40 percent of the adults and 19 percent of the children and adolescents in the United States have obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More and more of them face the increased risks of suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and countless other negative health effects. 

Obesity, like cancer, “is not one disease,” says Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In order to treat it, “you really have to be thinking about biology and behavior and society and culture and policy all at the same time. Because if you miss any one of those pieces, your intervention or your diet — it’s less likely to actually work.”

Read full article here.