News

A mathematician has found that overproduction of food is behind America’s weight problem

an excerpt: Did you ever solve the question posed to you when you were first hired — what caused the obesity epidemic?
We think so. And it’s something very simple, very obvious, something that few want to hear: The epidemic was caused by the overproduction of food in the United States
click to read more

Obesity rate may hit 42% by 2030

says USA Today cover story today

The LAPD is investigating “1-800-GET THIN” surgery centers over patient deaths

First the FDA, now the LAPD. Read about it here

NYT has a multimedia piece today on young people getting WLS

Young, Obese, and In Surgery
Though Shani Gofman had been teased for being fat since the fourth grade, she had learned to deal with it. She was a B student and in the drama club at school. She had good friends and a boyfriend she had met through Facebook. She even showed off her curves in spandex leggings and snug shirts.
When her pediatrician, Dr. Senya Vayner, first mentioned weight-loss surgery, Ms. Gofman was 17, still living with her parents in Bensonhurst,

Study Shows Why It’s Hard to Keep Weight Off

a choice excerpt from this NYT article:
One thing is clear, he said: “A vast effort to persuade the public to change its habits just hasn’t prevented or cured obesity.”
“We need more knowledge,” Dr. Hirsch said. “Condemning the public for their uncontrollable hedonism and the food industry for its inequities just doesn’t seem to be turning the tide.”
read the whole thing here