Best of 2012: April
Here’s a review of my favourite posts for 2012 or those that piqued the most interest from my readers (not always the same): Why Do We Expect Less From People With Obesity? How The Biggest Loser Promotes Weight Bias Patterns of Weight-Loss Maintenance – More Questions Than Answers? Close Concerns: Weight Loss and Weight Loss-Maintenance Close Concerns: Finding What Works For You Very much appreciate your thoughts on these topics. AMS Canmore, AB
Best of 2012: March
Here’s a review of my favourite posts for 2012 or those that piqued the most interest from my readers (not always the same): Canadians Do Not Look To Doctors For Obesity Management Do Varsity Sports Pose a Barrier to Tackling Obesity? Opinion: Varsity Sports Not All Bad The Limits of Active Living in Obesity Management What Do Patients Really Want? Very much appreciate your thoughts on these topics. AMS Canmore, AB
Best of 2012: February
Here’s a review of my favourite posts for 2012 or those that piqued the most interest from my readers (not always the same): Why Banning Sugar Will Not Solve Obesity Expert Panel Advises FDA Approve Qnexa for Obesity Treatment Muscle Hormone Irisin Stimulates Fat Browning? Personalizing Exercise Protocols Based on Genetics? Obesity and Mental Health – Beyond Pharmacotherapy Very much appreciate your thoughts on these topics. AMS Edmonton, AB
Best of 2012: January
Here’s a review of my favourite posts for 2012 or those that piqued the most interest from my readers (not always the same): Obesity Is Not A Mental Illness Mental Health and Obesity – the Double Epidemic How The Hedonic System Ratchets Up Your Weight Is There a Role For Recreational Therapists in Obesity Management? Formula Diet Reduces Weight, Improves Nutritional Status, and Increases Bone Mineral Density in Osteoarthritis Very much appreciate your thoughts on these topics. AMS Edmonton, AB
Obesity and the Global Burden of Disease
Last week, The Lancet published the first part of a monumental effort to describe the global burden of disease – I have not read the report. But, from what I can garner by a cursory look at the abstracts and the many news articles, deaths from starvation are down, whereas deaths from obesity are up (the ratio apparently is now one to three – at least according to some media reports). I cannot say that I am in any way surprised, not should any one else be. It is also not surprising that when obesity rates increase hand-in-hand with increases in life-expectancy, then more people will be living longer with obesity related health problems (see my previous post on this). While the report is descriptive and can neither make nor claim insights into what drives all of this, the warnings for our health systems and policy makers are clear – ignore obesity at your own risk. In the same manner that obesity did not appear overnight, no public health measures can be expected to make it disappear any time soon (some predict this may be take several decades short of catastrophic and disruptive global events). Over the last 50 years, we have made considerable strides in our ability to treat diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart disease, and other obesity related health problems – one reason why people with these conditions live so much longer today than ever before. The biology of glucose homeostasis is complex – yet we have effective treatments for diabetes. The biology of blood pressure regulation is complex – yet we have effective treatments for hypertension. The biology of cholesterol synthesis is complex – yet we have effective treatments for dyslipidemia. The biology of coagulation is complex – yet we have effective treatments for blood clots. The biology of energy homeostasis is complex – why do we not have effective treatments for obesity? Is it because we simply don’t like fat people and think they deserve less? AMS Edmonton, Alberta
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