Podcasts about obesity research

Con su permiso ha llegado el momento de poner en la mesa que la salud es política. Beata Wojna y Azucena Rojas conversan con la Dra. Abril Campos, profesora e investigadora del Institute for Obesity Research del Tecnológico de Monterrey, sobre cómo la salud va mucho más allá de lo individual. Desde el debate sobre la obesidad hasta el impacto de las redes sociales y las políticas públicas, este diálogo invita a repensar la salud como un tema profundamente político.

Marco Antonio Rito Palomares, director del Institute for Obesity Research del Tec de Monterrey, nos explica qué está haciendo la ciencia para ayudar a combatir el principal problema de salud en México, la obesidad.

It seems like almost everyone is taking GLP-1 medications these days to lose weight. Now a couple years after they've been used for this purpose, what do we know? How do we interpret all the headlines about them? Despite how the news makes it sound and what your doctor may have told you, you have options! Tune in to understand more about GLP-1 medications, what Jenn does as a health coach for her clients who are taking them, and how you can naturally support your own GLP-1, empowering you with knowledge and control over your health.Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries! In today's episode, Jenn dives into the impact of GLP-1 medications on metabolic health. She begins by explaining what GLP-1 is and addresses some of the controversy surrounding celebrities who don't admit to using it for their weight loss. Jenn also uncovers how the secondary benefits of GLP-1 often mislead the public and explores its short term side effects and potential long lasting impacts. She discusses the concept of fat cells having memory, what people can do to support true metabolic health while taking these meds, and shares practical tips for naturally supporting your body's own GLP-1 for long term metabolic health. The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let's dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. IN THIS EPISODE: (00:00) Jenn talks about GLP-1 meds, metabolic health and weight loss(05:07) Defining GLP-1 and how it works in the body(12:05) How the public is misled by the secondary benefits of taking the medication and discussion of side effects(21:08) Being cautious and a discussion of the gut brain connection and malnutrition(26:50) Fat cells have memory, BMI as a metric, and an example of how the Healthy Vibe Tribe brought down blood sugar 70 points for a client(35:10) How to naturally support your GLP-1 and metabolic health(43:53) What about insulinKEY TAKEAWAYS: GLP-1 medications are more openly discussed with more people openly admitting they're taking them. This shift contrasts with the early days when celebrities falsely claimed weight loss was solely due to light exercise, misleading the public and creating unrealistic expectations for weight loss.Jenn criticizes the Super Bowl ad from Hers, which she believes "weaponized diet culture" to promote its version of a GLP-1 medication. She expresses frustration with how marketing continues to exploit societal insecurities around weight, comparing it to the more positive and empowering approaches taken by brands like Dove.While GLP-1 medications can be life-transforming in the short term—reducing weight and alleviating joint pain—there are concerns about their long-term impact. Issues like bone density loss, muscle deterioration, and potential joint problems down the line should be considered. This highlights the importance of being proactive and responsible for your long-term healthWhile taking the medications may seem like the “easy button,” there are other considerations to ensure true health, like the nutrition you provide your body when you do eat and the role supplementation can play. There are nutrition and supplementation choices that can support the body's own GLP-1 production.QUOTES: (04:55) “GLP stands for Glucagon Like Peptide. Glucagon Like Peptide 1 comes from the large bowel, or the colon. It stimulates insulin secretion, suppresses glucagon, supporting blood sugar regulation.” Jenn Trepeck(17:21) “Protein and fiber at every meal makes removing fat, no big deal.” Jenn Trepeck(34:54) “Sometimes while we think this is the easy button, it requires an even more significant commitment to protein, fiber, quality fat, strength training, and a multivitamin to get your micronutrients.” Jenn Trepeck.(40:23) “When we start to understand low glycemic impact nutrition, we're focusing on nutrient dense foods and less processed foods.” Jenn Trepeck(42:35) “ Exercise, sleep, water, food. Those are your responsibilities. ” Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:Jenn's GLP-1 Support SupplementsBecome A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn's Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramNutrition Nugget: Ozempic Your Fat Cells Have Memory, A New Study Finds (feat. Ferdinand von Meyenn) BMI Is BSNutrition Nugget: ButterThe Ultimate BiohackTop 5 Tips for Digesting Nutrition News

Ozempic (semaglutida) es un medicamento para el control de la diabetes tipo 2 que se ha popularizado por sus efectos para bajar de peso. En este episodio explicaremos qué es la semaglutida, una clase de fármacos conocidos como agonistas de la hormona GLP-1, de la que se derivan medicamentos como Ozempic, Wegovy y Rybelsus. Hablaremos de sus beneficios, de sus efectos secundarios y de los retos en materia de salud pública relacionados con su consumo. Para este episodio entrevistamos a Carolina Solís Herrera, jefa de la División de Endocrinología en la Universidad de Texas en San Antonio, a Abril Campos Rivera, profesora investigadora del Institute for Obesity Research y la Escuela de Gobierno y Transformación Pública del Tec de Monterrey y a Paola Portillo Sánchez, médico internista y endocrinóloga de Tec Salud. Asimismo, recabamos los testimonios de tres usuarios de Ozempic. Si te interesa informarte más sobre este tema te invitamos a escuchar el Episodio 74: Fármacos para bajar de peso, ¿cuándo sí? También puedes leer: Fármacos como Ozempic para bajar de peso, ¿cuándo sí? Los medicamentos para la obesidad no son soluciones mágicas Encuentra más información en: TecScience.tec.mx La plataforma de divulgación del Tec de Monterrey. Y para que siempre estés al día con las últimas tendencias en investigación, suscríbete a nuestro newsletter.

Do you struggle to lose weight and keep it off? It turns out, fat cells actually have a memory that can keep weight off after rapid weight loss!In this episode of Salad with a Side of Fries, Jenn Trepeck sits down with Professor Dr. Ferdinand von Meyenn, assistant professor at the Institute of Food, Nutrition, and Health at ETH Zurich, to explore his study with the intriguing finding that fat cells encode a memory which influences the ability to maintain weight loss and therefore impacts metabolic health. They delve into his groundbreaking research on bariatric patients and mice, uncovering how fat cells retain memory and can continue to impact the body long after weight loss. Dr. von Meyenn breaks down the role of epigenetics, why GLP-1 medications don't provide long-term effects, and the importance of proper nutrition and lifestyle when losing weight and keeping it off. They also discuss the hip-to-waist ratio versus BMI and why prevention is the most powerful tool for long-term well-being. The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let's dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store. IN THIS EPISODE: (05:27) Ferdinand's research on fat cell memory and metabolic health(09:21) Research findings on bariatric patients and experiments on mice(17:28) Ferdinand defines epigenetics and GLP's don't give long-lasting effects(26:06) Losing weight too quickly and the set point concept(35:00) Weight loss is good, but proper nutrition is critical and discussion of adiponectin(38:27) Excess energy and body fat, the hip to waist ratio, and being overweight, and the long-term consequencesKEY TAKEAWAYS: Even after significant weight loss, an individuals' fat cells retain molecular changes (altered RNA and epigenetic markers) associated with their previous obese state. These long-lasting molecular markers in the fat cells predispose the body to regain weight as it responds more readily to an obesogenic environment.Weight loss significantly improves health, whether in humans or mice. However, fat cells have a form of memory, meaning that even after weight loss, some molecular changes persist. While these changes do not necessarily drive disease, they highlight the importance of sustained weight management strategies.Rapid weight loss, especially with methods like GLP-1 medications, can lead to muscle loss, negatively impacting metabolism and overall health. Since muscles play a key role in energy expenditure and physical stability (especially with aging), preserving muscle mass during weight loss is crucial for long-term success and well-being.QUOTES:         (06:59) “Many times people get bariatric surgery, and despite that being a very significant intervention that restricts how much food you take in, people lose weight for a while, and yet some recover some of that body weight.” Ferdinand von Meyenn(13:46) “The cell predisposes these people to regain weight because their cells are signaling for the obesogenic environment that they became used to.” Jenn Trepeck(24:53) “I think this is connected to the set point idea that people have heard of how we go about ‘losing the weight'. That might play into this too.” Jenn Trepeck.(26:08) “If weight loss is too quick, it is also loss of protein mass, basically of muscle mass and that is really problematic.” Ferdinand von Meyenn(32:43) “If we build lean muscle mass over time, removing fat over time, giving the body time to adapt to this metabolically healthier environment, there's the possibility of easier maintenance.” Jenn TrepeckRESOURCES:Become A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn's Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries InstagramNutrition Nugget: Minnesota Starvation ExperimentGUEST RESOURCESLaboratory of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics - WebsitevonMeyenn BlueSky - Social MediavonMeyenn Lab BlueSky - Social MediaMeyenn lab -  XFerdinand - XFerdinand von Meyenn - LinkedInGUEST BIOGRAPHY: Ferdinand von Meyenn has been Assistant Professor of the Institute of Food Nutrition and Health at the ETH Zurich since January 2019.Ferdinand studied Biochemistry at the TU Müchnen, Germany, before moving to ETH Zürich for his PhD to study metabolism and type-2 diabetes. After graduating, he joined Prof Wolf Reik at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, UK, investigating epigenetic mechanisms during development and ageing. In 2017 he joined King's College London as a Group leader and Research Fellow. Then, in 2019, he moved to ETH Zurich, where he was appointed Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Metabolic Epigenetics. His research focuses on the relationship between nutrition, metabolism and the epigenome, aiming to contribute to developing novel strategies to combat obesity and metabolic disease.

Since funding is necessary for scientific research, it's not uncommon for private companies to be financially involved in studies. However, Susan Greenhalgh breaks down Coca-Cola's intimate relationship with nutrition research, revealing the need for more third-party oversight in this area. Learn More: https://radiohealthjournal.org/soda-science-how-coca-cola-influenced-obesity-research Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many years in talks that I gave, I showed a slide with an ingredient list from a food most people know. Just to see if the audience could guess what the food was. based on what it was made of. It was very hard for people to guess. A few people might come close, but very few people would guess. And it was pretty hard because the food contained 56 ingredients. This is in one food. And the ingredient list had chemical names, flavorings, stabilizers, and heaven knows what else. But 56 things in one, just one food in the food supply. Pretty amazing to think what kind of things we're bombarded with in foods we eat in our everyday lives. So, one key question is do we know what all this stuff does to us, either individually or in combination? So, how does ingredient 42 interact with ingredient 17? Even if we happen to know what they do individually, which we may not. And, who's looking out for the health of the population, and who has regulatory control over these things? Today we're joined by the author of a new article on this topic published in the American Journal of Public Health. Jennifer Pomeranz is an attorney and is Associate Professor of Public Health Policy and Management in the School of Global Public Health at New York University. The food, by the way, was a chocolate fudge Pop Tart. Interview Summary So, who has regulatory oversight with these things that are added to foods? The FDA has the authority over all of those packaged foods. So, Pop Tarts, all of that type of packaged foods and the ingredients in there. Can you explain the nature of their authority and the concept of GRAS and what that stands for? Yes. So, there are two main ingredients in our food, but there is also color additives and other things that we didn't get to in our study. But the two main ingredients are called 'food additives' and then 'generally recognized as safe' or GRAS substances. And these are the two ingredients that are in all the processed foods. They're both complex substances, but they're regulated differently. GRAS is assumed to be safe. And food with GRAS substances is presumed to be safe as long as there's a generally agreement among scientists that it's safe, or if it's been in use in food since 1958. Food additives, on the other hand, are presumed to be unsafe. And so, foods that have food additives must have the food additive be approved for the condition of use. So actually, the FDA issues regulations on the food additives. Is it true that the FDA authority covers lots of these chemical type things that get put in foods that we discussed? But also, things that occur naturally in some things like caffeine? Yes. And so, caffeine is considered GRAS or generally recognized as safe. The FDA has a tolerance level for cola-type beverages for caffeine. It actually doesn't enforce that as you see, because we have energy drinks that far exceed that type of level. So, there's different types of GRAS substances. But they can be very complex substances that are actually not so different than food additives. Who decides at the end of the day whether something's safe or not? You imagine this battalion of scientific experts that the FDA has on hand, or consults with, to decide whether something's safe or not. But how does it work? Unfortunately, that's not exactly the case. When it comes to food additives, the industry must petition the FDA and provide evidence showing that it's safe. And the FDA promulgates a regulation saying that it agrees it's safe and it can be used for the things that it set forth in the regulation. For GRAS, there are two mechanisms. One is the industry can notify the FDA that it thinks something's safe. And then it actually goes through a similar transparent process where the FDA will evaluate the evidence submitted. Or, shockingly, the industry can actually decide that it's safe for themselves. And they don't have to notify the FDA. And they can add it to their food without the FDA or the public actually knowing. Now they might disclose this on a website or something, but it's actually not even required to be based on peer reviewed literature, which is actually one of the concerning aspects about this. Concerning is polite language for what one might call shocking. So, in the case of some of these things that go into the food, the industry itself decides whether these things are safe. And in some cases, they have to at least tell the FDA that something they declare as safe is going into the food. But in some cases, they don't even have to do this. Right. So, they only have to if they've determined that it's a food additive. But actually, the industry itself is deciding that it's a food additive versus GRAS. Once it made the decision, it's GRAS, it doesn't even have to notify the FDA that it considers it safe. If they do, they are supposed to rely on their own research saying that it's safe. But actually, there's some alarming parts about that as well. The other outside research that's not my own found that the panels of experts that they employ, 100 percent of the people on those panels have financial conflicts of interest. So, that's already worrisome. They're receiving money from the food industry in some way. Yes. To say that the ingredient is safe. Another scary part is that if they do notify the FDA and they're not happy with how the FDA is reacting to their GRAS notification, they can actually request a cease and desist. The FDA will issue a cease and desist letter, and then they can actually go to market with that ingredient. Pretty amazing. Like loopholes that not only a truck can go through, but a train and everything else. That's really pretty remarkable. So one could say that the risk built into this system is hypothetical, and it works pretty well. But is that true? I mean, are there cases where things have gotten through that probably shouldn't have? Or is it just that we don't know? I think there's a lot of unknowns. The Environmental Working Group does that research and they have identified things that they find to be concerning. A lot of it is that we actually don't know what we don't know, right? So even the FDA doesn't know what it doesn't know. And that is, is part of the concern, that you can't just identify this by looking at the nutrition facts label where they list ingredients. Sometimes they just use terms like spices, flavorings, colorings, chemical preservatives. But that could be masking an ingredient that has never been examined and for which It's unclear that it's actually safe. I know there have been some policy efforts in places such as California to prohibit use of some of these things that have otherwise been considered safe by the FDA, or perhaps just by industry. Is that true that's happening more and more? Yes, actually there has been. Because of the gap in the FDA's oversight, we are seeing states, and it's actually a pretty shocking situation, that California banned four ingredients that the FDA did not. And it's saying that those ingredients are not safe to be in food in California. And given what a huge market California is, the thinking is that the industry will have to change their ingredients across the nation. And frankly, they've already taken those ingredients out of the same foods in Europe, where those ingredients are not allowed. So how much do you trust this self-policing by the industry? To be honest, I'm quite concerned about it. The FDA has the authority to review substances post market, so after they're already in the ingredients. But we see that it can take years or even decades. In the case of, remember, partially hydrogenated oils, which were artificially produced trans-fat. It took decades for them to get that removed from the food supply, despite significant research showing that it had caused health harm. So, even when there is evidence of harm, it takes quite a long time for the FDA to remove it. And in the case of another ingredient recently where California banned it, then the FDA decided to ban it. So, it does worry me that even their post market authority is not being utilized to the extent that it should. Let's think about what a good set of defaults might be and how this might actually play out in practice. If you'd assume these things that go into foods are not safe by default, then the question is what would it take to make sure they're safe before they're allowed in the food supply? And it would take toxicology studies, studies with lab animals perhaps, studies with humans. I don't know exactly how these things are tested, but one can imagine it's not an easy or a quick process. Nor probably an inexpensive one. But somebody would have to do it, and if government can't do it, you can't rely on industry to do it. I wonder if the default might be fewer things in the food supply and whether that might not be a pretty good thing? I love that you said that because that's the conclusion I came to as well. Why do we need all these new ingredients? We already have ultra processed foods, which are by definition contain all these ingredients that we don't really know what they are. And why do we even need new ingredients? I think they could even put a moratorium on new ingredients and say, let's take a, take an analysis of what we've got in the food supply at this point. And to be honest, it would take Congress to act to change FDA's authority to give them more authority to do what you just suggested. And of course, resources, which would be personnel like you described. So maybe that chocolate Pop Tart that has 56 ingredients could get by with 41 or 32 or 17. And you know, maybe we'd be just fine having it with fewer ingredients. One interesting thing that I've heard about, but I'm not an expert in because my background isn't law, is I know it's possible for outside parties to bring lawsuits against government for failing to execute its duties. Has there been any talk about possible lawsuits taking on the FDA for failing to protect the public's health with regard to these things? Well, actually, there was a lawsuit already. These consumer protection organizations sued the FDA, arguing that they weren't protecting the public. And that they were actually ceding authority to the industry, which, they by definition are. But according to the law, because Congress didn't require them to review these ingredients pre market, the court found that the FDA did not violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. And so, they were operating according to the law. But also, to your point, I could see other lawsuits would be possible about them not actually exercising their post market authority to protect the public. Those could be from private lawsuits or a state attorney's general. There are different ideas there. So, what do you suggest going forward? You know what? Don't eat the Pop Tart. I think you got to avoid the many truly ultra processed foods and go for the lower processing levels. It's kind of that original advice. If you can't understand the ingredient list, maybe pick something different. And there are options within the same categories, right? There are potato chips that have three ingredients and there's potato crisps that have something like 12. So there are different options in that way. Bio Professor Jennifer Pomeranz is a public health lawyer who researches policy and legal options to address the food environment, obesity, products that cause public harm, and social injustice that lead to health disparities. Prior to joining the NYU faculty, Professor Pomeranz was an Assistant Professor at the School of Public Health at Temple University and in the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple. She was previously the Director of Legal Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. She has also authored numerous peer-reviewed and law review journal articles and a book, Food Law for Public Health, published by Oxford University Press in 2016. Professor Pomeranz leads the Public Health Policy Research Lab and regularly teaches Public Health Law and Food Policy for Public Health.

Trigger Warning: diet culture, disordered eating, body image. Dating in a fat body is different than dating in a thin body, and is in some ways much more difficult. Our dating culture has internalized the thin preference that is deeply rooted in Western culture, and that preference leaves many people struggling to find someone who appreciates their body and sees them as an attractive potential partner. In this episode, Megan and Steven grapple with this difficult topic and provide data to illustrate the trends and, hopefully, to give hope to anyone who feels that their body is presenting challenges to connection. Links and References: Preferences for sexually dimorphic body characteristics revealed in a large sample of speed daters--Sidari, M. et al, Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2019: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/retrieve/54c9b8dc-0155-4447-bae2-387dae00637e/SPPS_20Manuscript_20Final.pdf Secular differences in the association between caloric intake, macronutrient intake, and physical activity with obesity- Brown, Ruth E. et al, Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, 2016: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26383959/ "Size, By the Numbers," Hilary George Parkin, Racked, June 5, 2018. LANGUAGE ADVISORY: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26383959/ Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight, Lindo Bacon, PhD. NOTE: This is a research-based book about dieting and its impact on health, written by a secular author who also identifies as non-binary. We understand that some may feel uncomfortable reading a book whose author does not affirm biological gender; however, the book is not about gender identity and its contents are important for anyone who has struggled with guilt, shame, or depression around their weight. Read with caution, but please consider reading. https://lindobacon.com/health-at-every-size-book/ Apostolic and Single? Take the "From Singles, to Shepherds" survey now! https://forms.gle/KTt8UZEMA8ipHreTA #Synchpin Registration: https://the-synchrony-project.mykajabi.com/synchpin-registration These pins are exclusively for Apostolic Singles to use to recognize other singles in public spaces and create better connections. Register and pay shipping and we will mail you your own pin! Synchrony Community Members: You don't have to pay for shipping! See the Community space to give us your address and we'll mail you one absolutely free. Want to understand and remove the dating barriers that prevent your connections? Check out the course here. (Synchrony Community Members, check the Community forum to access the course for free). https://the-synchrony-project.mykajab... Download the 10 Min Connection Guide Here: https://the-synchrony-project.mykajabi.com/opt-in-d5ca0b81-abe1-4190-88ec-cb038489ca6a Save 15% on your coffee order with our friends at Kaffe117 when you put the code "Synchrony" into the checkout, or use the following link: https://kaffe117.com/discount/Synchrony Contact: If you want to join the conversation about this topic and give your thoughts, reach out on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or at questions@synchronyproject.com.

Donate (no account necessary) | Subscribe (account required) Join Bryan Dean Wright, former CIA Operations Officer, as he dives into today's top stories shaping America and the world. In today's episode, we tease: Bill Clinton Blames Trump for Immigration Failures: Former President Bill Clinton makes headlines, claiming that a Georgia murder victim would still be alive if Donald Trump hadn't blocked an immigration bill. We fact-check Clinton's claims and break down what really happened at the border. Global Updates: We take a tour around the world with updates from Sweden, Denmark, and Iran's growing threats against Donald Trump. Plus, news from Asia, including looming tensions between North and South Korea, energy concerns in Taiwan, and encouraging developments in Japan and the Philippines. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32

A recent study from Indiana University found that adolescents and young adults, especially women, who regularly eat walnuts are less likely to experience obesity.

Send us a textSpecial episode: Episodes in the Independent Scholars (IS) series are available in full to paid subscribers on the M&M Substack. This is a free, partial version.About the guest: Steven Rofrano became interested in human health & food, including ancestral vs. modern diets, from personal experiences in diet & allergies during college. He is co-founder and CEO at Ancient Crunch, Inc., which provides alternatives to widely consumed ultra-processed snack foods. Before becoming an entrepreneur Steven studied mathematics at Yale University and worked as a software engineer.Episode summary: Nick and Steven discuss: ancestral vs. modern foods; seed oils & polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs); inflammation, allergies, and immunity; PUFAs, free radicals, and oxidative stress; the corrupting influence of private industry on food science; the history of seed oils; animal vs. plant fats; Steven's food startup; and more. Related episodes:M&M #176: Bad Science, Nutrition Epidemiology, History of Obesity Research, Diet & Metabolic Health | Gary TaubesM&M #136: Seed Oils, Omega-6 PUFAs, Inflammation, Obesity, Diabetes, Chronic Disease & Metabolic Dysfunction | Chris Knobbe*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.Support the showAll episodes (audio & video), show notes, transcripts, and more at the M&M Substack Try Athletic Greens: Comprehensive & convenient daily nutrition. Free 1-year supply of vitamin D with purchase.Try SiPhox Health—Affordable, at-home bloodwork w/ a comprehensive set of key health marker. Use code TRIKOMES for a 10% discount.Try the Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Use code MIND for 10% off.Learn all the ways you can support my efforts

Elegir qué comer, en qué cantidad, cuándo y cómo no es una decisión trivial. De eso dependen múltiples funciones vitales y el futuro de nuestra salud física y mental. Por ello, en este episodio reunimos la evidencia científica que respalda o refuta algunas de las tendencias alimenticias del momento. En este episodio entrevistamos a Ana Sofía Guerra, nutrióloga clínica en la iniciativa Health4life y profesora en el sistema TecSalud, Aurea Karina Ramírez, profesora investigadora del departamento de Bioingeniería del Tec de Monterrey Campus Querétaro, Cristina Chuck profesora investigadora en la unidad de alimentos saludables del Institute for Obesity Research del Tec de Monterrey y Noemí García la profesora investigadora del Institute for Obesity Research del Tec de Monterrey. Un Podcast de Tec Sounds Podcasts. Encuentra más artículos sobre cómo lograr el bienestar (con sustento científico) en TecScience.tec.mx La plataforma de divulgación científica del Tec de Monterrey. Y si quieres conocer las últimas tendencias en investigación, tienes que suscribirte a nuestro newsletter. Un mail semanal con historias de ciencia y piezas multimedia que seguro te interesarán https://tecscience.tec.mx/es/subscribe/

"En este nuevo formato de Historias para mentes curiosas charlamos con Marion Brunck, inmunóloga e Investigadora de medicina experimental y terapias avanzadas del Institute for Obesity Research para hablar sobre los últimos hallazgos que ha hecho la ciencia sobre la importancia de la leche materna. "

Send us a textAbout the guest: Gary Taubes is a researcher, science historian, and science journalist. He has written several books, including “Rethinking Diabetes.”Episode summary: Nick and Gary Taubes discuss: the field of nutrition epidemiology and why it's filled with so much junk science; social factors influencing scientific research; the history of obesity & diabetes research; the energy balance vs. carbohydrate-insulin models of obesity; fats, carbs & insulin resistance; and more.Related episodes:Obesogens, Oxidative Stress, Dietary Sugars & Fats, Statins, Diabetes & the True Causes of Metabolic Dysfunction & Chronic Disease | Robert Lustig | #140Obesity Epidemic, Diet, Metabolism, Saturated Fat vs. PUFAs, Energy Expenditure, Weight Gain & Feeding Behavior | John Speakman | #132*This content is never meant to serve as medical advice.Support the showAll episodes (audio & video), show notes, transcripts, and more at the M&M Substack Try Athletic Greens: Comprehensive & convenient daily nutrition. Free 1-year supply of vitamin D with purchase.Try SiPhox Health—Affordable, at-home bloodwork w/ a comprehensive set of key health marker. Use code TRIKOMES for a 10% discount.Try the Lumen device to optimize your metabolism for weight loss or athletic performance. Use code MIND for 10% off.Learn all the ways you can support my efforts

En este nuevo formato de Historias para mentes curiosas charlamos con Marion Brunck, inmunóloga e Investigadora de medicina experimental y terapias avanzadas del Institute for Obesity Research para hablar sobre los últimos hallazgos que ha hecho la ciencia sobre la importancia de la leche materna.

¿Quieres saber cómo acelerar tu metabolismo y quemar calorías sin esfuerzo? En este podcast, te presentamos 10 alimentos que te ayudarán a aumentar tu tasa metabólica y quemar más calorías incluso en reposo. Descubre cómo incorporar estos superalimentos en tu dieta diaria y disfruta de sus increíbles beneficios para la salud y la pérdida de peso.

Eating-disorders psychologist Alexis Conason joins us to discuss her background in “obesity” research, how she came to question the conventional weight paradigm and move to a weight-neutral approach, the industry influence behind the American Medical Association's decision to classify obesity as a disease in 2013, the mental-health effects of bariatric surgery, how to talk about pharmaceutical-industry influence in ways that don't give rise to conspiracy theories or make it seem like we're impugning the entire medical establishment, and more. Then, in the paywalled portion of the interview, we discuss how social media makes it hard to have nuanced conversations about wellness and diet culture, the discourse around GLP-1 drugs, and the trouble with the research underlying weight-loss recommendations. This is a cross-post from our other podcast, Rethinking Wellness. Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. Upgrade to paid for the whole thing! ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available wherever books are sold. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan. Check out Christy's three books, Anti-Diet, The Wellness Trap, and The Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating & Body Image Workbook for a deeper dive into the topics covered on the pod. If you're ready to break free from diet culture and make peace with food, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course. For more critical thinking and compassionate skepticism about wellness and diet culture, check out Christy's Rethinking Wellness podcast! You can also sign up to get it in your inbox every week at rethinkingwellness.substack.com. Ask a question about diet and wellness culture, disordered-eating recovery, and the anti-diet approach for a chance to have it answered on Rethinking Wellness. You can also subscribe to the Food Psych Weekly newsletter to check out previous answers!

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit rethinkingwellness.substack.comEating-disorders psychologist Alexis Conason joins us to discuss her background in “obesity” research, how she came to question the conventional weight paradigm and move to a weight-neutral approach, the industry influence behind the American Medical Association's decision to classify obesity as a disease in 2013, the mental-health effects of bariatric surgery, how to talk about pharmaceutical-industry influence in ways that don't give rise to conspiracy theories or make it seem like we're impugning the entire medical establishment, and more. Then, in the paywalled portion of the interview, we discuss how social media makes it hard to have nuanced conversations about these issues, the discourse around GLP-1 drugs, and the trouble with the research underlying weight-loss recommendations.Paid subscribers can hear the full interview, and the first half is available to all listeners. To upgrade to paid, go to rethinkingwellness.substack.com. ALEXIS CONASON, PSY.D., CEDS-S, is a clinical psychologist and certified eating disorder specialist-supervisor in private practice in New York City. Her group practice, Conason Psychological Services, specializes in the treatment of binge eating disorder, disordered eating, body image concerns, and psychological issues related to bariatric weight loss surgery. She is the founder of The Anti-Diet Plan, a weight-inclusive online mindful eating program designed to help people stop dieting, eat more attuned with their body, and live more peaceful and pleasurable lives. She is the author of The Diet Free Revolution: 10 Steps to Free Yourself from the Diet Cycle with Mindful Eating and Radical Self-Acceptance (June 2021, North Atlantic Books), available wherever books are sold. Dr. Conason is a fierce advocate for helping people recognize and question the societal norms that encourage feeling not good enough about themselves so they can stop fixating on shrinking their bodies and reclaim the space that they deserve in the world. You can find her on social media @theantidietplan.If you like this conversation, subscribe to hear lots more like it! Support the podcast by becoming a paid subscriber, and unlock great perks like extended interviews, subscriber-only Q&As, full access to our archives, commenting privileges and subscriber threads where you can connect with other listeners, and more. Learn more and sign up at rethinkingwellness.substack.com.Christy's second book, The Wellness Trap, is available wherever books are sold! Order it here, or ask for it in your favorite local bookstore.If you're looking to make peace with food and break free from diet and wellness culture, come check out Christy's Intuitive Eating Fundamentals online course.

We already knew eating quality food make you feel great, and conversely that eating like trash makes you feel like... trash. What we might not know however that the gut brain axis, where your foods DIRECTLY impact your mood and immunity is like a secondary nervous system. Probably worth considering every time we make the brilliant decisions to eat quality foods and the immediately gratifying decisions to eat like trash pandas. Specific Health Benefits of Probiotics and Prebiotics: Digestive Health: Probiotics: Regular consumption of probiotics can help manage symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), including bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. For instance, strains such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium lactis are shown to improve intestinal health and bowel regularity. Prebiotics: Foods rich in prebiotics like garlic and onions support the growth of beneficial bacteria, which enhance gut barrier function and can reduce the risk of gastroenteritis and infections. Mental Health - Depression and Anxiety: Gut-Brain Axis: Both probiotic and prebiotic foods can affect the gut-brain axis, a critical pathway that mediates the impact of gut health on mental health. For example, the fermentation of prebiotics like inulin from chicory root can produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that possess anti-inflammatory properties, reducing systemic inflammation that is often linked with depression. Clinical Evidence: Studies suggest that certain probiotics (often referred to as "psychobiotics") can produce and deliver neuroactive substances like serotonin and dopamine, which act on the brain to improve mood and cognitive function. A meta-analysis has shown that patients who consumed probiotics saw a statistically significant improvement in depression symptoms. Immune System Enhancement: Probiotics: They can enhance immune function by increasing the production of immune cells like macrophages and lymphocytes. Regular consumption of fermented dairy products has been linked with reduced severity and duration of respiratory infections. Prebiotics: By supporting the growth of good bacteria, prebiotics help compete against pathogenic bacteria, enhancing immune response. Foods like bananas and leeks that are high in prebiotics can thus help bolster your body's defenses against common pathogens. Weight Management and Metabolism: Influence on Obesity: Research has indicated that the microbiota composition influenced by diet can affect the body's metabolism and fat storage. For example, a diet high in prebiotic fibers can help manage body weight and improve metabolic health by enhancing feelings of fullness and reducing inflammation. Probiotic Intervention: Some studies suggest that probiotics can influence hormone levels that regulate appetite and fat storage, such as leptin and ghrelin, potentially helping to prevent obesity. Integrating Probiotics and Prebiotics into Your Diet: Daily Intake Recommendations: While specific doses can vary, incorporating a variety of these foods into your daily meals can provide a sustained source of support for gut and overall health. Practical Tips: Include a probiotic yogurt or kefir at breakfast, add garlic or onions to your cooked meals, snack on bananas or apples, and choose whole grains like barley and oats as part of your meals. By understanding and leveraging the specific benefits of probiotics and prebiotics, you can consciously tailor your diet to not only support general health but also address specific conditions and improve your mental and physical well-being.   #GutBrainConnection #MentalHealth #NutritionPodcast #BrainHealth #HealthyEating #Psychobiotics #MoodFood #MentalClarity #DietAndWellness #Probiotics

Northwestern Medicine scientists are at the forefront of research investigating the most effective ways of treating obesity in children and teens and improving their access to care. In this episode, Justin Ryder, PhD, a clinical and translational obesity scientist at Feinberg, talks about the use of new GLP-1–based medications for childhood obesity and his work on several NIH-funded projects focused on understanding how pediatric obesity impacts chronic disease risk and how biology drives weight regain. 

 In this engaging episode of SBM's BUZZ in Behavioral Medicine, we sit down with Dr. Kelly Brownell, a trailblazer in the fight against obesity and a staunch advocate for public health policy. Dr. Brownell discusses the importance of "Strategic Research" in addressing global health challenges, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to behavioral medicine. Dive into the conversation as we explore how community engagement and strategic partnerships can catalyze change in public health, inspired by principles outlined in his influential work in The Lancet (Read more). Discover how SBM fosters a community of professionals dedicated to improving health and well-being through behavior change, promoting initiatives like the Community Engagement Studios to bridge research and real-world application (Learn about SBM, Community Engagement Studios, Communities in Partnership). Join us in this insightful dialogue that not only highlights Dr. Brownell's contributions to behavioral medicine but also encourages us to think broadly about the role of community and interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing health. Key Takeaways for Early Career Professionals/Undergrads: Insights into blending public health policy with behavioral science for societal impact.Strategies for engaging with communities and leveraging interdisciplinary teams.Guidance on carving out unique career paths within the behavioral medicine landscape.Don't miss this enlightening conversation with Dr. Kelly Brownell, especially if you're navigating the early stages of your career in behavioral medicine. Subscribe to SBM's BUZZ in Behavioral Medicine, hit 'Like', and turn on notifications to gain access to this and other episodes filled with expert advice and career development strategies tailored for the aspiring behavioral medicine professional. Connect and Grow: Subscribe to SBM's BUZZ in Behavioral Medicine to unlock the secrets to a fulfilling career in behavioral medicine. Engage with each episode to learn from the best in the field and stay ahead in your professional journey. Hit 'Like', subscribe, and turn on notifications to never miss an episode dedicated to your career development in behavioral medicine. Interested in becoming a member of SBM? Check us out at https://www.sbm.org/membership Special Thanks to our production team and Jay Conner of Jaybird Media for his skillful work in compiling and editing the audio and video for the Buzz in Behavioral Medicine: Season 2 podcast series.

In the dynamic world of weight loss, Weight Watchers, now rebranded as WW, has long been a prominent figure, dedicated to science-backed methods that promote sustainable weight management.However, the weight management landscape is experiencing notable shifts, that are reshaping the way individuals perceive their health and weight.In this discussion hosts Dr. Gautam Gulati and Dr. Jessica Shepherd are joined by two distinguished experts in the field of weight loss.Dr. Gary Foster, the Chief Scientific Officer at WW, brings a wealth of knowledge in obesity research and a deep commitment to scaling science-validated approaches for sustained weight management.Dr. Spencer Nadolsky serves as the Medical Director at WW and is a fervent advocate of telemedicine. He played a pivotal role in developing "Sequence," an online weight management program that Weight Watchers acquired in April 2023.The discussion walks listeners through the behavior changes, patient empowerment, and obesity-related stigma that need to be addressed for a more comprehensive and compassionate approach to treatment.Listen in as Dr. Foster and Dr. Nadolsky discuss the multifaceted aspects of obesity treatment and explore the evolving landscape of individualized and science-proven methods for sustainable weight management and improved health. About Dr. Gary FosterGary Foster, PhD is a clinical psychologist, obesity researcher and behavior change expert. He also serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at WeightWatchers and is an Adjunct Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was the Founder and Director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education and Laura Carnell Professor of Medicine, Public Health and Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, where Gary is based.Gary has authored more than 250 scientific publications and four books on the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity. He has received numerous honors including President of The Obesity Society, the Atkinson-Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service from The Obesity Society, and the George Bray Outstanding Scientific Achievements Award in Obesity Research from the American Society for Nutrition. His most recent book, The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Shifts for Lasting Weight Loss, is a national bestseller.At WeightWatchers, Gary leads the Science Team and is a member of the Leadership Team.     About Dr. Spencer NadolskySpencer Nadolsky, DO, is an obesity and lipid specialist physician with a passion for improving patient outcomes through innovative solutions. As the Medical Director for WeightWatchers, Dr. Nadolsky supports the WW clinical program research and development, bringing his knowledge and expertise from the field alongside his experience scaling Sequence, the online comprehensive chronic weight management program and telehealth platform which was acquired by WeightWatchers in April 2023. Dr. Nadolsky is committed to research and development, informing science-backed program creation to transform the way weight management is delivered to individuals in support of their overall health. With a background in telemedicine and fitness coaching, Dr. Nadolsky brings a unique perspective to the digital healthcare space. Topics CoveredThe shift away from unsustainable fad diets to more holistic and sustainable weight management approachesHow scientists are leveraging positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindset changes to improve the weight loss journeyHow WW is addressing the stigma associated with obesity by challenging societal biases and advocating for a compassionate and informed approachThe significance of maintaining an "adiposity-based" approach to addressing the root cause of obesityAdvancements in obesity treatment with the introduction of GLP-1 medications that offer substantial weight loss and minimal side effectsThe efforts to raise awareness about the biological factors influencing weight gainThe WW program's key components, including a points-based food system, activity, mindset, and sleep, provide science-based guidance for healthy habits Connect with Dr. Gary FosterDr. Foster on LinkedInDr. Foster on X Connect with Dr. Spencer NadolskyDr. Spencer NadolskyDr. Nadolsky on X Connect with Dr. Gautam Gulati & Dr. Jessica ShepherdHLTHDr. Gulati on XDr. Gulati on LinkedInDr. Jessica Shepherd MDDr. Shepherd on X ResourcesWeight Watchers (WW)The Shift by Gary Foster, PhD 

My new book LOSERTHINK, available now on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/rqmjc2a Find my "extra" content on Locals: https://ScottAdams.Locals.com Content: Politics, Obesity Research, China's Man Problem, Secret of Happiness, ADL, Hunting Republicans, Dominic Pezzola, Joe Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Phil Bump, Noam Dworman, Washington Post, Gears of Propaganda, Indigenous Mass Grave HOAX, Dan Bongino, President Trump, College Brainwashing Op, Vivek Ramaswamy, Cognitively Challenged Leaders, Scott Adams ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you would like to enjoy this same content plus bonus content from Scott Adams, including micro-lessons on lots of useful topics to build your talent stack, please see scottadams.locals.com for full access to that secret treasure. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scott-adams00/support

Gillian is joined by Dr George Pavis as they discuss the University Of Limerick's obesity research. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nutrition and obesity-related research are scientific topics which should be executed with the same degree of rigor, transparency, and truthful communication as in any other area of science. However, this type of research may be weaker than it should be due to flaws in the types of questions asked, the design of studies, the execution of studies, the analysis of resulting data, the interpretation and communication of studies and results. This weakens the overall quality of the literature and may lead to heightened distrust of nutrition science, which has been shown to be more severe than for other domains of inquiry. Tune into this episode to learn about: ·       an overview of various aspects of research including selection of questions, design of studies, execution of studies, analysis of data, and interpretation and communication of findings ·       the quality of existing obesity related research and challenges regarding this type of research in general ·       examples of where research has gone wrong and suggestions for improvement ·       what the evidence for obesity treatment and prevention shows and suggestions for prioritizing next steps, future research and treatments ·       why evidence in the field of nutrition and obesity-related research seems to be more often distorted and distrusted ·       specific steps to make obesity research more rigorous, probative, valuable, and more transparently and truthfully communicated Full shownotes and resources at: https://soundbitesrd.com/240       

Health research related to weight and the idea of obesity is a frequent topic in the news. Just recently, we've been hearing about the diabetes medication Ozempic being used for weight loss and that the American Academy of Pediatrics revised their guidelines for treating children diagnosed with obesity to include weight loss medications and potentially surgery starting at age 13. Obesity and weight loss research is a complex and sometimes emotionally difficult topic and we wanted to try to look at it from multiple viewpoints to get a fuller picture of the research being done and how it's shaping healthcare. So, for this show, we talked to a recent graduate from the Master's of Public Health program about her experiences in fat activism and research in the fat community, and we also spoke to a professor and researcher from the School of Public Health who focuses on weight-related health. The following organizations were mentioned in this show: The Radical Health Alliance, Cake Plus-Size Resale, National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, and the Association for Size Diversity and Health. Link to transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rm385CDQH9YfdGWGLhfr27NMzv5vpUgZ5vnOJY_nX2A/edit?usp=sharing Link to Topic Survey: https://forms.gle/4HuR4ZW6h2RYAMCH6

We have historically thought about weight as the mere outcome of our deliberate choices about diet and exercise. We have not typically thought about weight like a disease. But in the past 18 months, there's been an extraordinary revolution in weight-loss medication that's putting in our hands a therapy that can help people easily shed weight without major side effects. You may have heard these drugs go by the name Wegovy or Ozempic. What happens when you take a country obsessed with self-image and diet and tell them that the mystery of weight loss has now been reduced to a daily injection? You change a lot more than body mass index. You change society. Today's guest is Susan Z. Yanovski. She is the co-director of the Office of Obesity Research and the program director of the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at NIH. We talk about the stakes of anti-obesity medication, why diet and exercise doesn't work for so many people, how these weight-loss drugs could help American health care, strain American insurance, and revolutionize America's sense of willpower, responsibility, and diet. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Susan Z. Yanovski Producer: Devon Manze Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Causes or Cures, Dr. Eeks chats with Dr. Christoffer Clemmensen about his research on the psychodelic drug, psilocybin,  and its connection to weight and energy balance. This podcast will mostly cover his animal study published here in Translational Psychiatry. As there is renewed interest in psychedelics and, of course, the ongoing obesity epidemic that is increasing around the globe, this is a doubly timely topic. Specifically, he will discuss psilocybin, how it works in the body, its relation to "cognitive flexibility", and how it might be used for obesity. He will explain the results of his animal study involving psilocybin, the dosing riddle,  and why he feels it should next be studied in humans. Dr. Clemmensen heads the Clemmensen Group studies at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research. His research focuses on the biological regulation of body weight and aims to develop new therapeutic approaches for obesity and its metabolic consequences. You can learn more about him and his lab here. You can contact Dr. Eeks at bloomingwellness.com.Follow Dr. Eeks on Instagram here.Or Facebook here.Or Twitter.Subcribe to her newsletter here!Support the show

The Better Show brings Stephan Guyenet to the show this week to talk his new book The Hungry Brain. Stephan has a BS in Biochemistry and a PHD in Neuroscience, with over 12 years in the neuroscience research field. The founder of Red Pen Reviews, an unbiased, non-profit, evidence-based review company that scores popular health and nutrition books available for the public based on their sources. We begin chatting about the evolution of diets and the level of obesity in society, as well as the changes that have driven the BMI increase over the past century. We venture into the science side of the episode to talk about Lipostats, the Hypothalamus and the brain stem. We discuss the behavioural side of obesity, and the reward circuits related to highly palatable food and consumption. We explore the solutions available to lose weight, and what are the best options for differing levels of obesity. We finish off the episode by talking about debunking sources and misinformation around nutrition and health. Are you A Healthcare Practitioner? Join The Estima Certification Program HereJoin the Hello Betty AMA here: https://www.hellobetty.club/ama We'd like to thank our sponsors, The DNA  Company - $50 discount using code "DRSTEPHANIE" at checkout. https://www.thednacompany.com/drstephanieHVMN Ketones - get 10% off your order with Promo Code “STEPHANIE”  https://hvmn.me/STEPHANIEAthletic Greens - redeem an exclusive offer here: athleticgreens.com/stephanieLMNT Electrolytes - A FREE 7-flavor sample pack! - https://www.drinklmnt.com/DrEstimaOrion Red Light Therapy - Use the code STEPHANIE10 for 10% off + 40% off storewide until September 5th https://www.orionrlt.ca/?ref=StephanieLumen - get $25 off your order with Promo Code “DRSTEPHANIE25” https://www.lumen.me/?fid=1799Ancestral Supplements - Use Promo Code “ASA10” for 10% off any purchase https://shop.ancestralsupplements.com/discount/Tribe10?rfsn=5900205.652074&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=5900205.652074PRIMEADINE - get 10% Off your Order with Promo Code “DRSTEPHANIE10” - https://oxfordhealthspan.com/products/best-spermidine-supplementBIOOPTIMIZERS - receive 10% off your order with Promo Code "ESTIMA" - www.biooptimizers.com/drstephanie Episode Overview: 0:00 Introduction2:00 Stephen's Discovery of Obesity Research 8:00 Brain's Impact on Hunger & Obesity 19:30 When Fatness is a Good thing23:30 Obesity from an Evolutionary Lens32:00 Historical Trend of Obesity56:00 Lipostat & Leptin  1:09:00 Brainstem's Satiety Role 1:33:30 Tools to Circumvent Weight Gain   1:48:30 Red Pen's Empirical Reviews2:12:00 Conclusion Follow Me On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.stephanie.estimaGet yourself a copy of my best-selling book, The Betty Body - https://bettybodybook.comJoin the Hello Betty Community here - https://hellobetty.club Stephan's Links:The Hungry Brain Book Linkhttps://www.redpenreviews.org/

The CDC reports that over 41% of the American public is classified as obese, making this a nation-wide public health epidemic. Obesity is also closely connected to multiple other chronic health conditions, which makes its impact that much more consequential.  Quite often fitness professionals are on the frontlines of working with this population, left to decipher the massive volume of information that exists on how to effectively work with these individuals. The challenge with this information is some (maybe even most) isn't evidence-based, while other information is simply obscured in scientific journals and the halls of academia. This presents clear obstacles for the fitness professional that wants to take an evidence-based approach to working with individuals with obesity.  Our guest in episode 63, Dr. John Jakicic, will help us cut through all of the fact and fallacy of obesity research, translating his decades of practical and research experience into actionable principles that you can apply to working with clients with obesity. Dr. Jakicic has the unique ability to synthesize the depth and breadth of this knowledge into relevant principles for fitness professionals to understand and act on, which makes this a very high mileage conversation to take the time to listen to. Our discussion will explore the complex nature of the origins of obesity (hint: it's more than calories in vs. calories out), programmatic considerations and best practices to meet the needs of individuals with obesity, and finally (and most importantly) the mindset of empathy and understanding fitness professionals need to cultivate when working with this population. The obesity epidemic is, indeed, one of the biggest public health crises of our life time. Fitness professionals who can effectively assist in addressing this crisis will become an indispensable part of our healthcare delivery system.   Show Notes Page: https://www.wellnessparadoxpod.com/podcast/episode/63 Our Guest: John M. Jakicic, PhDDr. Jakicic, PhD is a Professor at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Division of Physical Activity and Weight Management. He has an interdisciplinary research program that examines lifestyle approaches to the prevention and treatment of chronic health conditions, with a particular focus on the role of increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior on these outcomes.  Central to this research has been a focus on interventions for weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Additional health conditions of interest have included cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and aspects of aging (cognition, function, etc.). He was also the Principal Investigator for one of the clinical sites for the multi-center Look AHEAD Trial.  His work has encompassed the spectrum of science from biology/physiology to psychosocial and behavioral factors. He has served on numerous national committees focused on obesity, physical activity, and other chronic health conditions, which included his appointment by the US Department of Health and Human Services to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Jakicic also has a passion for his research to translate to clinical, community, health-fitness, or other public health settings. This has been particularly evident in his research focused on how shorter bouts of physical activity can influence adoption and maintenance of physical activity, and how the accumulation of these shorter bouts of physical activity can influence health-related outcomes. He has also examined how the use of wearable devices may influence behavior and related health outcomes, and has also examined novel intervention approaches  to modifying lifestyle behaviors that include physical activity.

Videos: 1. Stefan Oelrich, head of Bayer's Admits COVID-19 Vaccine is Gene Therapy (0:40) 2. Munk Debate on Ukraine – John Mearsheimer Closing Statement (3:06) 3. Jonathan Pie: ‘Boris Johnson Is a Liar' | NYT Opinion (7:42) 4.  “Uniquely Stupid:” Dissecting the Past Decade of American Life | Amanpour and Company (18:09) 5. New Rule: The United States of Dumb-merica | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) (10:00) 6. You're Not Going To Believe What I'm About To Tell You – The Oatmeal (7:53) Researchers investigate cancer-fighing properties of mango Texas A&M University In addition to being one of the most important tropical fruits consumed worldwide, recent studies by researchers at the Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation at Texas A&M University in College Station have shown that mangoes also may help prevent breast cancer. Talcott and others recently completed one in vitro study and one using mice to see if the polyphenols found in mango did, in fact, exhibit inflammation- and cancer-fighting properties. “There was already some research done showing that polyphenolic compounds, such as those found in the mango, have cancer-fighting properties,” Talcott said. “Those compounds appear to have antioxidant properties that may contribute to decrease oxidative stress, which can lead to the onset of chronic diseases such as cancer. In addition to that, polyphenolics have been shown to be anti-inflammatory.” Talcott said interest in mango has been increasing in recent years and experimental data has already shown bioactive compounds present in mangoes exert anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, antiviral and antibacterial properties.  “Based on this premise, we extracted mango polyphenols and tested their effects in vitro, or separate from their normal biological context, on commercially obtained non-cancer and cancer breast cells,” she said. These results of the study indicate that the cell-killing effects of mango polyphenols are specific to cancer cells, where inflammation was reduced in both cancer and non-cancer cells, seemingly through the involvement of miRNA-21 – short microRNA molecules associated with cancer,” Talcott said. A second study by this research group using hairless mice showed mango polyphenols also suppressed cell proliferation in the breast cancer BT474 cell line and tumor growth in mice with human breast carcinoma cells transplanted into them. (Next) Ginseng can treat and prevent influenza and RSV, researcher finds Georgia State University Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings by a scientist in Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences. In a recent issue of Nutrients and an upcoming publication of the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, Sang-Moo Kang reports the beneficial effects of ginseng, a well-known herbal medicine, on human health. He partnered with a university and research institutes in South Korea that wanted international collaborative projects to study if ginseng can be used to improve health and protect against disease because of the potential benefit in fighting these viruses. There are no vaccines available for RSV, which affects millions and is the leading cause of inflammatory bronchiolitis pneumonia and viral death in infants and in some elderly adults. In his study published in Nutrients, Kang investigated whether red ginseng extract has preventive effects on influenza A virus infection. He found that red ginseng extract improves the survival of human lung epithelial cells infected with influenza virus. Also, treatment with red ginseng extract reduced the expression of genes that cause inflammation. (Next) New study illustrates that potato protein ingestion strongly increases muscle protein synthesis rates at rest and during recovery from exercise Maastricht University, The Netherlands Exercise enthusiasts have long presumed animal protein to be superior to plant-derived options for muscle protein synthesis due to its essential amino acid profile. While many plant proteins are deficient in one or more essential amino acids necessary for optimal muscle growth and repair, a new randomized controlled study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise shows that plant-derived proteins can still induce strong anabolic responses. Researchers at Maastricht University, The Netherlands, found that consuming 30 grams of potato-derived protein concentrate following resistance exercise strongly increased muscle protein synthesis rates to levels that did not differ from the response following the ingestion of an equivalent amount of milk protein concentrate. In general, plant-derived proteins are considered to have lesser anabolic properties, due to their lower digestibility and incomplete amino acid profile. The results show that ingestion of 30 g potato-derived protein will support muscle growth and repair at rest and during recovery from exercise.” (Next) Antipsychotic medication during pregnancy does affect babies Monash University (Australia)  A seven-year study of women who take antipsychotic medication while pregnant, proves it can affect babies. The observational study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, reveals that whilst most women gave birth to healthy babies, the use of mood stabilisers or higher doses of antipsychotics during pregnancy increased the need for special care after birth with 43 per cent of babies placed in a Special Care Nursery (SCN) or a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), almost three times the national rate in Australia. As well as an increased likelihood of the need for intensive care, the world-first study shows antipsychotic drugs affects babies in other ways; 18 per cent were born prematurely, 37 per cent showed signs of respiratory distress and 15 per cent developed withdrawal symptoms.

Let's kick off Unlearn to Learn! Our podcast is all about challenging what we think we know about obesity. To launch the series, our host Alexander French from World Obesity Federation is joined by Dr Arya Sharma, Professor Emeritus of Medicine & Past-Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta, and the Past-Clinical Co-Chair of the Alberta Health Services Obesity Program. There are countless myths about living with and managing obesity. For example, a common myth is that obesity is primarily caused by inactivity, a lack of physical exercise and/or unhealthy dietary habits. Almost all preventative and therapeutic programs for obesity focus on curbing an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity and thereby neglect other possible contributors to the disease. In this episode, Dr Sharma explores common misconceptions with Alexander, from genetics to management programmes, and even how terminology and perceptions around obesity can impact patients.

“I had been writing about the fact that fructose was the problem, but inside the animals we saw confusing evidence.”  - Dr. Richard Johnson   In this episode, Jimmy is pleased to welcome back to the podcast a Professor of Medicine and obesity researcher from the University of Colorado named Dr. Richard Johnson (@drrichardjjohnson) who has been conducting studies looking at fructose as the primary culprit in obesity for the past two decades. His research has evolved over the years examining the various mechanisms within the body that determine adipose fat accumulation and what can be done to prevent and reverse that switch. Dr. Johnson brings a heavily does of science with practical takeaways that you're sure to learn a lot form in today's interview! Dr. Richard Johnson's official website: http://www.drrichardjohnson.com Jimmy's 2008 interview with Dr. Johnson where he suggested looking at all carbohydrates as a culprit in obesity: https://livinlavidalowcarb.com/llvlc-pod/2009/01/29/dr-richard-johnson-ep-223/

Our guest today is Dr. Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer of WW, the company that many of us remember as Weight Watchers. Gary is one of the most respected scientists in the obesity field and is the author of a book released recently called "The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss." Interview Summary So Gary, you and I have known each other now for about 40 years, having worked together at the University of Pennsylvania at the early stage of careers for both of us and I've always admired your work and was eager to read your new book and I expected that it would break new ground, and in fact it did. And it's not a topic that hasn't been written about a lot, so it was interesting to see how you would handle these issues. So, I'm so glad you can join us. We look forward to digging into the book. Thanks so much for being with us. My pleasure, Kelly, great to be with you. I was just thinking in preparation for this conversation that you were the person responsible for starting my career. You actually gave me my first job at Penn. So, for that I'll always be grateful. Well, I mean, that can't feel anything but good because your career has been amazing and you've accomplished and contributed so much. And it's been really fun to be friends and colleagues over all these years so I guess it's been a real source of pride for me. So, let me ask a career question of you. So, you spent many years as a highly regarded figure in academics, first at the University of Pennsylvania and then running a well-known obesity center at Temple University that you created but then you moved to the corporate world. Why make such a big career change? Yeah, it was an interesting process. I loved everything about what I was doing as a researcher and a clinician, and administrator, and academia both at Penn and at Temple and the opportunity at WW came up and I was actually approached and someone asked that I know somebody who would be suitable. And the more I heard about the position, the more it excited me. And the main reason is the ability to scale science and to have impact. One of the nice things about being a scientist and write papers and give talks is that you're actually creating science, and that has its own impact. And again, I'm not knocking it. That was one of the most gratifying things I ever did in my professional life. But the ability to take that science that I had done and broadly the whole field had done, and to scale that to impact the lives of literally millions was really compelling for me and it was just an offer I just couldn't pass up. Well, it's so interesting that you made that change and you're right boy, it's an opportunity to affect an awful lot of people and now you are expanding the opportunity even more with your new book. So, usually, in the world of advice written by professionals, and sometimes non-professionals, for people wanting to lose weight, it's filled with basically information on what the diet should be. Is it low carb or high carb or low fat or whatever. And there're just versions and versions and versions of these things over the years but you focus on mindset. So, what goes into the way a person's thinking is a really important determinant of weight loss according to you. So, tell me why you believe that and why is mindset so important? Yeah, I think first is the world doesn't need another diet book. To your point, most people, when they think of improving their weight or health or their overall wellness are told things like high this, low that as you just referenced. Then, what's been clear to me and this wasn't clear early in my career, but probably 10 or 15 years in patient after patient, study after study, what became clear is the people who were most successful in a weight and wellness journey are necessarily those who track their food intake every day or every week, or lost weight in some linear fashion, who worked out just as they had prescribed. Well, eating and activity were important. The thing that most distinguished people who were successful versus those were less successful are the people who had changed the way they thought and importantly, the way they thought about themselves and the way they thought about the journey. And that's really what the book's about, it's trying to help people think differently about themselves especially among people who are heavily stigmatized based on their weight and shape, but also to think about the journey because one of the most common off-ramps is when people had setbacks then they think in some erroneous ways that aren't helpful for overall health and wellness. So, we'll get back at setbacks in just a minute. But first I'd like to ask you the following question. It sounds like you have abundant personal and clinical experience working with individuals suggesting that the way people think is an important determinant of whether they can lose weight and keep it off. Is there a research that supports that as well? Yeah, but there's no long-term clinical trials on that. We're now just starting to measure things like self-compassion and our own clinical trials. What we find is a lot of experimental research. Kristin Neff has probably done the best work at this at the University of Texas where she can experiment totally manipulate self-compassion in the context of eating. So, there's a famous experiment that she talks about where people come in and they're given a classic preload where they're given some cookies under the guise of the taste test and then one group gets a self-compassion intervention and the other group gets a more general intervention having nothing to do with self-compassion. And when they look at the subsequent intake of things like M&M'S or various candies, people who get the self-compassion intervention actually less, and the hypothesized mechanism there is that if you violate some rule that you have or some guideline that I shouldn't eat this or I shouldn't eat that or I have to have a certain number of calories or a certain number of points, once you violate that, what you say to yourself really does matter. It goes back to the original premise and 60 years of research that what you think determines how you feel and how you feel determines what you do. So in short, how you think about yourself in the journey is going to affect your behavior. That leads us to maybe a little bit more thorough discussion of setbacks. You mentioned that dealing with setbacks, which really are inevitable for sort of anybody doing anything but especially when they're on a weight loss journey that how people are responding to these in their mind becomes really important. The first is to expect setbacks. They happen to 100% of the people, 100% of the time and this isn't just a weight and wellness play. This is in relationship and our role as parents and our role as workers in a workforce. It never goes perfectly. So, first thing is to expect them and then the second thing is to learn from them. Use it as Carol Dweck would say, use it from a growth mindset perspective. Instead of saying, "This is just the way it is, I'm in this rut and here I go again." Just say, "Okay, things didn't go as exactly as I planned, I wanted to eat this and I ate that. I wanted to move my body in a certain way and it didn't happen." Okay, can you view that? Be aware of it but in a nonjudgmental way in which you can learn. I think the other thing about setbacks that's important is to just increase your awareness of what you say to yourself. Sometimes we say the most nasty things to ourselves. Some are neutral like I've blown it. It's exaggerated, it's not true but others are like, "Can't believe you did this. You're such an idiot. Here you go again, you have no willpower." We wouldn't utter those things to any other human being, but somehow we feel justified to say very nasty things to ourselves. If it helped it be one thing, it would still be in my mind unconscionable to talk to yourself that way. But the data are very clear, it doesn't help. It actually depletes motivation. And it goes against this commonly held myth that the harder I am on myself, the more nasty things to myself, the better I'll do when in fact the data are pretty clear that self-compassion beats self-criticism every single time.   It's interesting because this sounds like a very modern and updated version of what the well-known psychologist talked about many years ago where he talked about people having the inevitable lapses but then it really was the way they were processing them psychologically that turned them into a full-blown relapse. And so, you've kind of taken that basic premise but enriched it a lot, given people more concrete ways of addressing and then also layering in this whole emotional part of it about compassion. It's very impressive how that's transformed over the years. Thanks you, I agree. I mean, probably from my exposure to you and training by you was very aware of my lapse model and the abstinence violation effect. And really it's trying to get at the crux of when people have setbacks, how do they view them? And one is how you view the setback itself. Is it a bump in the journey? Does it really say something about how you're doing on the journey overall? I would say, no, it's a bump that tells you nothing about the overall journey. It's a momentary snapshot but also importantly, I think this is where a slightly different angle than previous theories perhaps is how you think about yourself. The more you engage in self-criticism, the worst is going to be. So, this issue of compassion has come up a number of times in our discussion already. Let's talk about it a little bit more because I think it's really one of the most important and unique parts of your book. You talk a lot about compassion and kindness toward yourself, these are central themes. And you also want readers to feel this more often when they're addressing the inevitable setbacks. So, explain a little more concrete detail how they can go about doing that. Yes. One of the things that I'm really proud about the book is that we don't just talk about self-compassion is important and here's some science on it and here's a reason to believe and good luck to you. As a behavioral psychologist, it's really important to me to not just lay out the what, but the how. So at the back of each chapter, whether it's a self-compassion chapter, leaning into your strengths or experiencing happiness and gratitude, all of those things have science proven techniques at the back of each chapter to help you do that. So, the basic premise around self-compassion is you need to start the journey from a fundamental sense of worth as people are right now. So, no qualifications. If I was a little bit lighter, if I was a little bit fitter, if I was a better parent, if I... Not, just as you are right now, you have fundamental worth and that's why you're worth taking care of. And that's to me the cornerstone of any self-improvement project whether it's weight-based, wellness-based, relationship-based or anything else. And what that does is it turns the journey upside down. Instead of seeing yourself as deficient from the start and needing some remediation of all these deficiencies, you're really saying, "I'm worth taking care of." And because I am, that's why I'm going to engage in this. And what that does is this now makes something, feels like something you're doing for yourself, not against yourself. It's almost the analogy I say in the book it's like giving a gift to yourself. If this starts to feel like making up for past transgressions, it starts to feel moralistic. It starts to feel onerous. That's not a gift to yourself. And it probably is started with the premise that the harder I'm on myself, the better I'll do. And again, the science is just the opposite. Well, it's almost like going from swimming against the tide than going with the tide, isn't it? Because you're trying to take advantage of people's inherent strengths and have them feel that they deserve these sort of things. And then, the actions that they're taking are trying to fight off some evil force that makes people want to eat more but to do things that are nurturing and informing. Exactly, exactly. One of the techniques we talk about in the book is how you would talk to a friend given the same situation and think about your body postures, think about the words you would use, how you would talk to your child who is having a setback and contrast that against the ways you talk to yourself. And there's a pretty big fundamental difference for most people on a weight and wellness journey. And you're so right in terms of leaning into your strengths and otherwise it becomes a game of whack-a-mole where here's the deficiency, here's the weakness. It's exhausting and it doesn't feel like it's a gift you're giving to yourself. It feels like you're in never ending search of fixing one weakness after another. So, what role does a person's social network play in losing weight and maintaining it? It's critically important and your work many years ago sort of highlighted this in an empirical way where people had so-called at the time cooperative spouses and uncooperative spouses. And I think the field has evolved over time but there's certainly a few tenants that I think are important to consider when it comes to getting help. One is to believe that you deserve help. A lot of people say again, given the pervasive weight and shape based stigma that you know well about, been a pioneer in talking out against and studying its causes and consequences. A lot of people feel like, "I got myself into this situation, so I shouldn't ask for help." So again, that's the antithesis of self-compassion. So, start at a place that you're worthy of taking care of and you're worthy of asking help for it. The next step is really, and this is where most people I think get off track a little bit, is to ask for what you need in very specific terms. So, it's up to you to decide what's supportive and what's not, one of the landmines that can happen in relationships sometimes as people say, "Honey, please be supportive." And then honey gets to decide what's supportive or not, which may not be supportive to you. So, it may be things like, "When I order a dessert out of the restaurant, it's really not helpful for me when you roll your eyes or you make a comment, that's not helpful. So, I'd appreciate it in the future but if I order anything whether you think I should have it or not then you just don't make any comments about it." So, the first is that specific request and then of course the next step would be a specific follow-up. Not, "Honey, thanks for being supportive." Or, "You're a terrible partner because you're not supportive. But anyway thanks so much, I noticed when I ordered something the other night, you didn't make a comment." Or "Truly helpful for me, if you're going to have ice cream at night to have it in the other room and not to have it close to me while we're watching TV." So, first thing is you deserve it and the second thing is specificity both on the request and then on the follow up. It's really nice that you begin with a principle and describe why the principle is so important and justify it scientifically but then you give some very concrete examples, like you just have. So, that makes a book way more accessible than it might otherwise be. And I could see how we're be very helpful for people. Let me ask about another issue that you alluded to. And so, the subtitle of your books last chapter is "Experiencing Happiness and Gratitude." Again, this is something that makes your book unique. Tell us more about what you mean by that. A common myth and practice is that people often put their own lives on hold or put their happiness on hold as if their happiness is determined by some number on the scale or some size of their clothing. So, what the book really attempts to do is to say the more the journey can be, and this goes again for any self-improvement journey, can be a happy one and one filled with gratitude. A, you're just happier when you're more grateful, that's a good thing to be in and out of self. But B, it gives fuel to the journey. So, if I have this preset notion that I can only be happy once I've lost 50 pounds, boy, it's a long time between now and 50 pounds. And really, is that what determines your happiness? So, one of the things we talk a lot about in the book again are these techniques at the end of each chapter and there's a really great technique called three good things. It takes no more than five minutes a day and it doesn't have to be done every day. But if on most days at the end of the day, it could be at the beginning of the day, it could be at meal time, whatever it can be a ritualized routine for folks, it's truly important just to think about big, small, medium, don't worry about it. What brought you some pleasure today? It could be the smell of a great cup of coffee. It could be hearing from an old friend and just to wallow in those feelings and just think about what you'd liked about it. It could be some moment of pride around a young child having an accomplishment, just that process of remembering them and wallowing in it for a very short period of time has been empirically shown to improve people's happiness. So, the idea is to do those things now. The things that we've both heard from patients over the years like, "I'll wear nice bright colors when I lose weight, I'll get out of a bad marriage when I lose weight, I'll ask for a promotion when I lose weight." No. Live life now. Lean into your own happiness. You deserve to be happy and don't make a contingent on your weight or shape or any other thing. Bio: Gary Foster, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at WW International, Inc. Foster, a psychologist, obesity researcher and behavior change expert, was previously the Founder and Director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education and Laura Carnell Professor of Medicine, Public Health and Psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. Prior to Temple, he served as the Clinical Director of the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has authored more than 225 scientific publications and three books on the causes, prevention and treatment   of obesity. Foster has received numerous honors including President of The Obesity Society, Honorary Member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology from the American Psychological Association, and the Atkinson-Stern Award for Distinguished Public Service from The Obesity Society. Dr. Foster's current focus is on scalable, evidence-based approaches to wellness for adults and children in community settings. Foster earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Duquesne University, an M.S. in Psychology from University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Temple University.

Episode 75: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).  Dr Schlaerth explains the signs, symptoms, and basic management of MIS-C. Lam explain the role of anti-obesity medications in weight management. Introduction: The Role of Drugs in Weight Loss Management    By Lam Chau, MS3, Ross University School of Medicine     Today about 70% of adult Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, among many other diseases. Studies have shown losing 5-10% of your body weight can substantially reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.  Traditional belief is that weight loss can only be attributed to diet and exercise. While there are certainly elements of truth to that statement, medication is a safe and proven method for weight management that is often overlooked. The fact of the matter is that weight loss is an ongoing field of study with constant new research and innovations.  In June of this year, a medication named Wegovy was approved for weight loss management by the FDA. This drug is indicated for chronic weight management in patients with a BMI of 27 or greater with an accompanying weight-related ailment or in a patient with a BMI of 30 or greater. Rachel Batterham, PhD, of the Centre for Obesity Research at University College London, shared: "The findings of this study represent a major breakthrough for improving the health of people with obesity. No other drug has come close to producing this level of weight loss — this really is a game changer.” Despite breakthroughs like these, the use of medication for weight loss is still relatively low. Dr. Erin Bohula, a cardiologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, believes “there are probably a few reasons for this, including cost, if not covered by insurance, and a perception these agents are not safe in light of the history with weight loss agents.” A study from 2019 examined the medical records from eight geographically dispersed healthcare organizations. They found that out of 2.2 million patients who were eligible for weight loss medication, only 1.3% filled at least 1 prescription. Weight loss is a dynamic process with many different variables. While it may not necessarily be for everyone, medication can help tremendously and is an option you should consider if you are interested in weight loss[1,2]. This is Rio Bravo qWeek, your weekly dose of knowledge brought to you by the Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program from Bakersfield, California. Our program is affiliated with UCLA, and it's sponsored by Clinica Sierra Vista, Let Us Be Your Healthcare Home.  ___________________________Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).   By Katherine Schlaerth, MD, and Hector Arreaza, MD. History and epidemiologyMost children who get COVID-19 have either no symptoms or very mild symptoms. However, about 18 months ago, a new pediatric complication of COVID-19, possibly postinfectious, was described.  The eight children who were initially described had a clinical presentation which was similar to either Kawasaki Disease or perhaps toxic shock syndrome, and since these children had signs of a hyperinflammatory state coupled with shock, the new syndrome was named Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C for short. By midsummer of 2021, the United States had about two thousand cases and 30 deaths in children under 21.  Other name for this condition is Pediatric Hyperinflammatory Shock. DiagnosisWhat are the criteria for a diagnosis of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome? They include:Age below 21Fever above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees centigrade for 24 hours (a subjective fever for more than 24 hours counts too). Laboratory evidence of inflammation which should include at least two of the following tests: elevated CRP, elevated ESR, elevated fibrinogen level, procalcitonin, D-dimer, ferritin, lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH), interleukin-6, and neutrophil counts, low lymphocyte count and low albumin.Severe disease necessitating hospitalization with multisystem organs affected. The systems affected include cardiac, renal, respiratory, hematologic, gastrointestinal, dermatologic, and neurologic (at least three systems need to be involved). No creditable other diagnosis. Other symptoms include:GI complaints (diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain)Skin rashConjunctivitisHeadacheLethargyConfusionRespiratory distressSore throatMyalgiasSwollen hands/feetLymphadenopathyCardiac signs and symptoms include troponin/BNP elevation and arrhythmia. Findings on ECHO may include depressed LVEF, coronary artery abnormalities, including dilation or aneurysm, mitral regurgitation, and pericardial effusion. There also must be a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 and this test can be either a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), serologic, or antigen testing. Exposure to someone who has had or is suspected of having had COVID-19 within the last 4 weeks also counts.  Patients with MIS-C may have predominately gastrointestinal symptoms, mucocutaneous findings, and may be hypotensive or “shocky” on presentation. Up to 80% require ICU admission. Thrombocytopenia and /or elevated transaminase levels can also be seen.  MIS-C vs Kawasaki DiseaseThe big issue in diagnosing MIS-C is the overlap with Kawasaki's disease and with toxic shock syndrome. Patients with Kawasaki Disease in their second week of illness often will have thrombosis, not thrombocytopenia. Whereas MIS-C usually affects school age children or adolescents, Kawasaki Disease is more commonly a problem in younger children, who have an average age of 2 years.  Kawasaki Disease is also more common in Asian children and MIS-C disproportionately seems to affect Black and Hispanic children.  Obesity seems to be another risk factor for MIS-C.  Kawasaki's Disease also has different cardiac manifestations from MIS-C. Coronary artery dilatation is common in Kawasaki's disease and left ventricular dysfunction in MIS-C, although sometimes coronary artery dilatation and rarely aneurisms can be noted on echocardiogram in putative MIS-C, which is why differentiation from Kawasaki's Disease is an issue.  PathophysiologyThe cause of MIS-C is probably postinfectious immune dysregulation. Only a minority of MIS-C patients are identified as having COVID-19 by RT-PCR, but most have positive tests for immunoglobulin G.  Statistically, there is a lag of 4-6 weeks between peak community cases of COVID-19 and the time at which children present with MIS-C.   Although research is being done on MIS-C, and theories abound about etiology, there is no clear-cut answer to why some children get MIS-C and the vast majority do not. In a review of the literature on MIS-C using literature from December 2019 through May 2020, gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, and abdominal pain were 4-5 times more common than cough and respiratory distress.  There was a slight preponderance of male patients and mean age was 8 ½ years. ICU admission was common and 2/3 required inotropic support, over ¼ needed respiratory help with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation warranted in 31 children. The death rate was 1.5 % of these very sick children treated in hospital.  In another smaller study, 80% had mild, but 44% had moderate to severe EKG abnormalities including coronary involvement. The good news was that coronary arteries were normal in all children after a month, and at 4-9 months, only 2-4% had mild heart abnormalities. Unfortunately, mechanisms of MIS-C as well as universal treatment is still being worked out. Published articles may be delayed due to time constraints in publishing. Other immunologic interventions do not have sufficient data. TreatmentWhat about the treatment of children diagnosed with MIS-C?Usually, a variety of specialists become involved initially. These can include pediatric rheumatology, infectious disease, cardiology, and hematology. If children with MIS-C meet criteria for complete or incomplete Kawasaki disease as well, regardless of COVID-19 testing results, IVIG and aspirin are reasonable.  Corticosteroid use must be individualized, and if used it may require a taper.  An echocardiogram can be done initially looking for coronary aneurisms and repeated in a week.  In severe cases, shock may be a presenting factor needing urgent attention. Generally, the treatments used are decided by the aforementioned consults and may consist of immunomodulating therapy, including possibly IVIG (2g/kg), and/or corticosteroids methylprednisolone (30mg/kg).  AntiviralsThe role of antiviral therapy is unclear and remdesivir should be reserved for children with acute COVID-19.  COVID-19 vaccination-associated myocarditisAnother entity which needs further evaluation is COVID-19 vaccination-associated myocarditis in adolescents. This problem is more common in young males and may occur after the administration of mRNA based COVID-19 vaccines. The presentation occurs within 2 weeks of COVID-19 vaccination, and clinical presentation can include chest pressure, abnormal biomarkers (elevated troponins), and cardiac imaging findings. It is unknown if subclinical cases occur.  COVID-19 infection in children, while usually benign, has the potential to become serious, and the association between some mRNA vaccines and the occurrence of myocarditis has yet to be thoroughly studied. We look forward to more and better data to guide the care of children and young adults in these spheres. The risk of having myocarditis is still higher with the actual COVID-19 than the COVID-19 vaccine. The incidence of myocarditis after BioNtech/Pfizer vaccine was 2.13 cases per 100,000 persons in a large study done in a large health care organization in Israel where more than 2 million people were vaccinated (that represents 0.00213%). Another US study showed that there were 77 cases per million doses of vaccines in young male, in contrast, there were 450 cases of myocarditis per million COVID-19 cases in the same age group.____________________________Conclusion: Now we conclude our episode number 74 “Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.” Dr. Schlaerth explained that MIS-C is a work in progress in terms of pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. MIS-C and Kawasaki Disease are very similar, but, for example, GI symptoms, cardiac dysfunction, shock and multisystem dysfunction are more prominent in MIS-C than Kawasaki Disease. Whereas coronary artery aneurysms are more common in Kawasaki disease than MIS-C. Even without trying, every night you go to bed being a little wiser.Thanks for listening to Rio Bravo qWeek. If you have any feedback about this podcast, contact us by email RioBravoqWeek@clinicasierravista.org, or visit our website riobravofmrp.org/qweek. This podcast was created with educational purposes only. Visit your primary care physician for additional medical advice. This week we thank Hector Arreaza, Katherine Schlaerth, and Lam Chau. Audio edition: Suraj Amrutia. See you next week! _____________________References:FDA Approves New Drug Treatment for Chronic Weight Management, First Since 2014, June 04, 2021, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-drug-treatment-chronic-weight-management-first-2014. Saxon DR, Iwamoto SJ, Mettenbrink CJ, et al. Antiobesity Medication Use in 2.2 Million Adults Across Eight Large Health Care Organizations: 2009-2015. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2019;27(12):1975-1981. doi:10.1002/oby.22581. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6868321/.  Carroll, Linda, Weight-loss pills can help. So why don't more people use them? NBC News Health Care, September 2, 2018.  https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/weight-loss-pills-can-help-so-why-don-t-more-n905211 World Health Organization, WHO recommends groundbreaking malaria vaccine for children at risk, October 6, 2021. https://www.who.int/news/item/06-10-2021-who-recommends-groundbreaking-malaria-vaccine-for-children-at-risk Lee, Min-Sheng et. al, Similarities and Differences Between COVID-19-Related Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Kawasaki Disease, Front. Pediatr., 18 June 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.640118.  Gail F. Shust, Vijaya L. Soma, Philip Kahn and Adam J. Ratner, Pediatrics in Review July 2021, 42 (7) 399-401; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/pir.2020-004770. Jain SS, Steele JM, Fonseca B, et al. COVID-19 vaccination-associated myocarditis in adolescents. Pediatrics. 2021; doi:10.1542/peds.2021-053427.  https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2021/08/12/peds.2021-053427.full.pdf.  Wilson, Clare, Myocarditis is more common after covid-19 infection than vaccination,  New Scientist, 4 August 2021, https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25133462-800-myocarditis-is-more-common-after-covid-19-infection-than-vaccination/#ixzz79JPn2E47. Son, Mary Beth F, MD, and Kevin Friedman, MD, COVID-19: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) clinical features, evaluation, and diagnosis, Up to Date, September 2021, https://www.uptodate.com/contents/covid-19-multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children-mis-c-clinical-features-evaluation-and-diagnosis?search=kawasaki%20vs%20misc&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~150&usage_type=default&display_rank=1  

Dr Stephen Farrow, Executive Director National Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute speaks with host, Tom Osha, about the mission of  NDORI and the desire to create an innovation district in Biloxi.The interview was conducted during Day 2 of the Association of University Research Parks 2021 International Conference held in Salt Lake City Oct 18 - 21.For more information, please visit www.ndori.org

Raspberries, ellagic acid reveal benefits in two studies Oregon State University, October 1, 2021.    Articles that appeared recently in the Journal of Berry Research report that raspberries and compounds present in the fruit could help support healthy body mass and motor function, including balance, coordination and strength.   In one study, Neil Shay and colleagues at Oregon State University fed mice a high fat, high sugar diet plus one of the following: raspberry juice concentrate, raspberry puree concentrate, raspberry fruit powder, raspberry seed extract, ellagic acid (a polyphenol that occurs in a relatively high amount in raspberries), raspberry ketone, or a combination of raspberry ketone and ellagic acid. Additional groups of animals received a high fat, high sugar diet alone or a low fat diet.   While mice that received the high fat and sugar diet alone experienced a significant increase in body mass, the addition of raspberry juice concentrate, raspberry puree concentrate or ellagic acid plus raspberry ketone helped prevent this effect. Of note, mice that received raspberry juice concentrate experienced gains similar to those of animals given a low fat diet. "We hope that the findings from this study can help guide the design of future clinical trials," Dr Shay stated.   In another study, Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD, and her associates at Tufts University's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging gave 19 month old rats a control diet or a diet enhanced with raspberry extract for 11 weeks. Psychomotor behavior was assessed during week 7 and cognitive testing was conducted during weeks 9-10.   Animals that received raspberry performed better on psychomotor coordination and balance, and had better muscle tone, strength and stamina than those that received a control diet. "These results may have important implications for healthy aging," stated Dr Shukitt-Hale. "While further research in humans is necessary, animal model studies are helpful in identifying deficits associated with normal aging."       Massage doesn't just make muscles feel better, it makes them heal faster and stronger Harvard University, October 6, 2021 Massage has been used to treat sore, injured muscles for more than 3,000 years, and today many athletes swear by massage guns to rehabilitate their bodies. But other than making people feel good, do these "mechanotherapies" actually improve healing after severe injury? According to a new study from researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the answer is "yes." Using a custom-designed robotic system to deliver consistent and tunable compressive forces to mice's leg muscles, the team found that this mechanical loading (ML) rapidly clears immune cells called neutrophils out of severely injured muscle tissue. This process also removed inflammatory cytokinesreleased by neutrophils from the muscles, enhancing the process of muscle fiber regeneration. The research is published in Science Translational Medicine. "Lots of people have been trying to study the beneficial effects of massage and other mechanotherapies on the body, but up to this point it hadn't been done in a systematic, reproducible way. Our work shows a very clear connection between mechanical stimulation and immune function. This has promise for regenerating a wide variety of tissues including bone, tendon, hair, and skin, and can also be used in patients with diseases that prevent the use of drug-based interventions," said first author Bo Ri Seo, Ph.D., who is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Core Faculty member Dave Mooney, Ph.D. at the Wyss Institute and SEAS. Seo and her coauthors started exploring the effects of mechanotherapy on injured tissues in mice several years ago, and found that it doubled the rate of muscle regeneration and reduced tissue scarring over the course of two weeks. Excited by the idea that mechanical stimulation alone can foster regeneration and enhance muscle function, the team decided to probe more deeply into exactly how that process worked in the body, and to figure out what parameters would maximize healing. They teamed up with soft robotics experts in the Harvard Biodesign Lab, led by Wyss Associate Faculty member Conor Walsh, Ph.D., to create a small device that used sensors and actuators to monitor and control the force applied to the limb of a mouse. " The device we created allows us to precisely control parameters like the amount and frequency of force applied, enabling a much more systematic approach to understanding tissue healing than would be possible with a manual approach," said co-second author Christopher Payne, Ph.D., a former Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wyss Institute and the Harvard Biodesign Lab who is now a Robotics Engineer at Viam, Inc.  Once the device was ready, the team experimented with applying force to mice's leg muscles via a soft silicone tip and used ultrasound to get a look at what happened to the tissue in response. They observed that the muscles experienced a strain of between 10-40%, confirming that the tissues were experiencing mechanical force. They also used those ultrasound imaging data to develop and validate a computational model that could predict the amount of tissue strain under different loading forces. They then applied consistent, repeated force to injured muscles for 14 days. While both treated and untreated muscles displayed a reduction in the amount of damaged muscle fibers, the reduction was more pronounced and the cross-sectional area of the fibers was larger in the treated muscle, indicating that treatment had led to greater repair and strength recovery. The greater the force applied during treatment, the stronger the injured muscles became, confirming that mechanotherapy improves muscle recovery after injury. But how? Evicting neutrophils to enhance regeneration To answer that question, the scientists performed a detailed biological assessment, analyzing a wide range of inflammation-related factors called cytokines and chemokines in untreated vs. treated muscles. A subset of cytokines was dramatically lower in treated muscles after three days of mechanotherapy, and these cytokines are associated with the movement of immune cells called neutrophils, which play many roles in the inflammation process. Treated muscles also had fewer neutrophils in their tissue than untreated muscles, suggesting that the reduction in cytokines that attract them had caused the decrease in neutrophil infiltration. The team had a hunch that the force applied to the muscle by the mechanotherapy effectively squeezed the neutrophils and cytokines out of the injured tissue. They confirmed this theory by injecting fluorescent molecules into the muscles and observing that the movement of the molecules was more significant with force application, supporting the idea that it helped to flush out the muscle tissue. To pick apart what effect the neutrophils and their associated cytokines have on regenerating muscle fibers, the scientists performed in vitro studies in which they grew muscle progenitor cells (MPCs) in a medium in which neutrophils had previously been grown. They found that the number of MPCs increased, but the rate at which they differentiated (developed into other cell types) decreased, suggesting that neutrophil-secreted factors stimulate the growth of muscle cells, but the prolonged presence of those factors impairs the production of new muscle fibers. "Neutrophils are known to kill and clear out pathogens and damaged tissue, but in this study we identified their direct impacts on muscle progenitor cell behaviors," said co-second author Stephanie McNamara, a former Post-Graduate Fellow at the Wyss Institute who is now an M.D.-Ph.D. student at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "While the inflammatory response is important for regeneration in the initial stages of healing, it is equally important that inflammation is quickly resolved to enable the regenerative processes to run its full course." Seo and her colleagues then turned back to their in vivo model and analyzed the types of muscle fibers in the treated vs. untreated mice 14 days after injury. They found that type IIX fibers were prevalent in healthy muscle and treated muscle, but untreated injured muscle contained smaller numbers of type IIX fibers and increased numbers of type IIA fibers. This difference explained the enlarged fiber size and greater force production of treated muscles, as IIX fibers produce more force than IIA fibers. Finally, the team homed in on the optimal amount of time for neutrophil presence in injured muscle by depleting neutrophils in the mice on the third day after injury. The treated mice's muscles showed larger fiber size and greater strength recovery than those in untreated mice, confirming that while neutrophils are necessary in the earliest stages of injury recovery, getting them out of the injury site early leads to improved muscle regeneration. "These findings are remarkable because they indicate that we can influence the function of the body's immune system in a drug-free, non-invasive way," said Walsh, who is also the Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at SEAS and whose group is experienced in developing wearable technology for diagnosing and treating disease. "This provides great motivation for the development of external, mechanical interventions to help accelerate and improve muscle and tissue healing that have the potential to be rapidly translated to the clinic." The team is continuing to investigate this line of research with multiple projects in the lab. They plan to validate this mechanotherpeutic approach in larger animals, with the goal of being able to test its efficacy on humans. They also hope to test it on different types of injuries, age-related muscle loss, and muscle performance enhancement. "The fields of mechanotherapy and immunotherapy rarely interact with each other, but this work is a testament to how crucial it is to consider both physical and biological elements when studying and working to improve human health," said Mooney, who is the corresponding author of the paper and the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS. "The idea that mechanics influence cell and tissue function was ridiculed until the last few decades, and while scientists have made great strides in establishing acceptance of this fact, we still know very little about how that process actually works at the organ level. This research has revealed a previously unknown type of interplay between mechanobiology and immunology that is critical for muscle tissue healing, in addition to describing a new form of mechanotherapy that potentially could be as potent as chemical or gene therapies, but much simpler and less invasive," said Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at (HMS) and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS.   Vitamin E could help protect older men from pneumonia University of Helsinki (Finland), October 7 2021.    An article that appeared in Clinical Interventions in Aging reported a protective role for vitamin E against pneumonia in older men.   For the current investigation, Dr Harri Hemilä of the University of Helsinki, Finland analyzed data from the Alpha-Tocopherol Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study conducted in Finland. The trial included 29,133 men between the ages of 50 to 69 years who smoked at least five cigarettes daily upon enrollment. Participants received alpha tocopherol (vitamin E), beta carotene, both supplements, or a placebo for five to eight years.   The current study was limited to 7,469 ATBC participants who started smoking at age 21 or older. Among this group, supplementation with vitamin E was associated with a 35% lower risk of developing pneumonia in comparison with those who did not receive the vitamin.  Light smokers who engaged in leisure time exercise had a 69% lower risk compared with unsupplemented members of this subgroup. The risk in this subgroup of developing pneumonia by age 74 was 12.9%.   Among the one-third of the current study's population who quit smoking for a median period of two years, there was a 72% lower risk of pneumonia in association with vitamin E supplementation. In this group, exercisers who received vitamin E experienced an 81% lower pneumonia risk.   Dr Hemilä observed that the benefit for vitamin E in this study was strongest for older subjects—a group at higher risk of pneumonia.   "The current analysis of individual-level data suggests that trials on vitamin E and pneumonia on nonsmoking elderly males are warranted," he concluded.       Toxic fatty acids to blame for brain cell death after injury New York University, October 7, 2021 Cells that normally nourish healthy brain cells called neurons release toxic fatty acids after neurons are damaged, a new study in rodents shows. This phenomenon is likely the driving factor behind most, if not all, diseases that affect brain function, as well as the natural breakdown of brain cells seen in aging, researchers say. Previous research has pointed to astrocytes—a star-shaped glial cell of the central nervous system—as the culprits behind cell death seen in Parkinson's disease and dementia, among other neurodegenerative diseases. While many experts believed that these cells released a neuron-killing molecule to "clear away" damaged brain cells, the identity of this toxin has until now remained a mystery. Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the new investigation provides what they say is the first evidence that tissue damage prompts astrocytes to produce two kinds of fats, long-chain saturated free fatty acids and phosphatidylcholines. These fats then trigger cell death in damaged neurons, the electrically active cells that send messages throughout nerve tissue. Publishing Oct. 6 in the journal Nature, the study also showed that when researchers blocked fatty acid formation in mice, 75 percent of neurons survived compared with 10 percent when the fatty acids were allowed to form. The researchers' earlier work showed that brain cells continued to function when shielded from astrocyte attacks.  "Our findings show that the toxic fatty acids produced by astrocytes play a critical role in brain cell death and provide a promising new target for treating, and perhaps even preventing, many neurodegenerative diseases," says study co-senior author Shane Liddelow, Ph.D. Liddelow, an assistant professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology at NYU Langone Health, adds that targeting these fats instead of the cells that produce them may be a safer approach to treating neurodegenerative diseasesbecause astrocytes feed nerve cells and clear away their waste. Stopping them from working altogether could interfere with healthy brain function. Although it remains unclear why astrocytes produce these toxins, it is possible they evolved to destroy damaged cells before they can harm their neighbors, says Liddelow. He notes that while healthy cells are not harmed by the toxins, neurons become susceptible to the damaging effects when they are injured, mutated, or infected by prions, the contagious, misfolded proteins that play a major role in mad cow disease and similar illnesses. Perhaps in chronic diseases like dementia, this otherwise helpful process goes off track and becomes a problem, the study authors say. For the investigation, researchers analyzed the molecules released by astrocytes collected from rodents. They also genetically engineered some groups of mice to prevent the normal production of the toxic fats and looked to see whether neuron death occurred after an acute injury. "Our results provide what is likely the most detailed molecular map to date of how tissue damage leads to brain cell death, enabling researchers to better understand why neurons die in all kinds of diseases," says Liddelow, also an assistant professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Langone. Liddelow cautions that while the findings are promising, the genetic techniques used to block the enzyme that produces toxic fatty acids in mice are not ready for use in humans. As a result, the researchers next plan is to explore safe and effective ways to interfere with the release of the toxins in human patients. Liddelow and his colleagues had previously shown these neurotoxic astrocytes in the brains of patients with Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, and multiple sclerosis, among other diseases.   Clinical trial for nicotinamide riboside: Vitamin safely boosts levels of important cell metabolite linked to multiple health benefits University of Iowa Health Care, October 3, 2021   In the first controlled clinical trial of nicotinamide riboside (NR), a newly discovered form of Vitamin B3, researchers have shown that the compound is safe for humans and increases levels of a cell metabolite that is critical for cellular energy production and protection against stress and DNA damage.   Studies in mice have shown that boosting the levels of this cell metabolite -- known as NAD+ -- can produce multiple health benefits, including resistance to weight gain, improved control of blood sugar and cholesterol, reduced nerve damage, and longer lifespan. Levels of NAD+ diminish with age, and it has been suggested that loss of this metabolite may play a role in age-related health decline.   These findings in animal studies have spurred people to take commercially available NR supplements designed to boost NAD+. However, these over-the-counter supplements have not undergone clinical trials to see if they work in people.   The new research, reported in the journal Nature Communications, was led by Charles Brenner, PhD, professor and Roy J. Carver Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in collaboration with colleagues at Queens University Belfast and ChromaDex Corp. (NASDAQ: CDXC), which supplied the NR used in the trial. Brenner is a consultant for ChromaDex. He also is co-founder and Chief Scientific Adviser of ProHealthspan, which sells NR supplements under the trade name Tru NIAGEN®.   The human trial involved six men and six women, all healthy. Each participant received single oral doses of 100 mg, 300 mg, or 1,000 mg of NR in a different sequence with a seven-day gap between doses. After each dose, blood and urine samples were collected and analyzed by Brenner's lab to measure various NAD+ metabolites in a process called metabolomics. The trial showed that the NR vitamin increased NAD+ metabolism by amounts directly related to the dose, and there were no serious side effects with any of the doses.   "This trial shows that oral NR safely boosts human NAD+ metabolism," Brenner says. "We are excited because everything we are learning from animal systems indicates that the effectiveness of NR depends on preserving and/or boosting NAD+ and related compounds in the face of metabolic stresses. Because the levels of supplementation in mice that produce beneficial effects are achievable in people, it appears than health benefits of NR will be translatable to humans safely."   The next step will be to study the effect of longer duration NR supplementation on NAD+ metabolism in healthy adults, but Brenner also has plans to test the effects of NR in people with diseases and health conditions, including elevated cholesterol, obesity and diabetes, and people at risk for chemotherapeutic peripheral neuropathy.   Prior to the formal clinical trial, Brenner conducted a pilot human study -- on himself. In 2004, he had discovered that NR is a natural product found in milk and that there is pathway to convert NR to NAD+ in people. More than a decade of research on NR metabolic pathways and health effects in mice and rats had convinced him that NR supplementation had real promise to improve human health and wellness. After consulting with UI's institutional review board, he conducted an experiment in which he took 1 gram of NR once a day for seven days, and his team analyzed blood and urine samples using mass spectrometry. The experiment showed that Brenner's blood NAD+ increased by about 2.7 times. In addition, though he reported immediate sensitivity to flushing with the related compound niacin, he did not experience any side effects taking NR.   The biggest surprise from his metabolomic analysis was an increase in a metabolite called NAAD, which was multiplied by 45 times, from trace levels to amounts in the micromolar range that were easily detectable.   "While this was unexpected, I thought it might be useful," Brenner says. "NAD+ is an abundant metabolite and it is sometimes hard to see the needle move on levels of abundant metabolites. But when you can look at a low-abundance metabolite that goes from undetectable to easily detectable, there is a great signal to noise ratio, meaning that NAAD levels could be a useful biomarker for tracking increases in NAD+ in human trials."   Brenner notes this was a case of bidirectional translational science; having learned something from the initial human experiment, his team was able to return to laboratory mice to explore the unexpected NAAD finding in more detail.   Brenner's mouse study showed that NAAD is formed from NR and confirmed that NAAD levels are a strong biomarker for increased NAD+ metabolism. The experiments also revealed more detail about NAD+ metabolic pathways.   In particular, the researchers compared the ability of all three NAD+ precursor vitamins -- NR, niacin, and nicotinamide -- to boost NAD+ metabolism and stimulate the activity of certain enzymes, which have been linked to longevity and healthbenefits. The study showed for the first time that oral NR is superior to nicotinamide, which is better than niacin in terms of the total amount of NAD+ produced at an equivalent dose. NR was also the best of the three in stimulating the activity of sirtuin enzymes. However, in this case, NR was the best at stimulating sirtuin-like activities, followed by niacin, followed by nicotinamide.   The information from the mouse study subsequently helped Brenner's team design the formal clinical trial. In addition to showing that NR boosts NAD+ in humans without adverse effects, the trial confirmed that NAAD is a highly sensitive biomarker of NAD+ supplementation in people.   "Now that we have demonstrated safety in this small clinical trial, we are in a position to find out if the health benefits that we have seen in animals can be reproduced in people," says Brenner, who also is co-director of the Obesity Research and Education Initiative, professor of internal medicine, and a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the UI.   Protecting the ozone layer is delivering vast health benefits Montreal Protocol will spare Americans from 443 million skin cancer cases National Center for Atmospheric Research, October 7, 2021 An international agreement to protect the ozone layer is expected to prevent 443 million cases of skin cancer and 63 million cataract cases for people born in the United States through the end of this century, according to new research. The research team, by scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), ICF Consulting, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), focused on the far-reaching impacts of a landmark 1987 treaty known as the Montreal Protocol and later amendments that substantially strengthened it. The agreement phased out the use of chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that destroy ozone in the stratosphere. Stratospheric ozone shields the planet from harmful levels of the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation, protecting life on Earth. To measure the long-term effects of the Montreal Protocol, the scientists developed a computer modeling approach that enabled them to look to both the past and the future by simulating the treaty's impact on Americans born between 1890 and 2100. The modeling revealed the treaty's effect on stratospheric ozone, the associated reductions in ultraviolet radiation, and the resulting health benefits.  In addition to the number of skin cancer and cataract cases that were avoided, the study also showed that the treaty, as most recently amended, will prevent approximately 2.3 million skin cancer deaths in the U.S. “It's very encouraging,” said NCAR scientist Julia Lee-Taylor, a co-author of the study. “It shows that, given the will, the nations of the world can come together to solve global environmental problems.” The study, funded by the EPA, was published in ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. NCAR is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Mounting concerns over the ozone layer Scientists in the 1970s began highlighting the threat to the ozone layer when they found that CFCs, used as refrigerants and in other applications, release chlorine atoms in the stratosphere that set off chemical reactions that destroy ozone. Concerns mounted the following decade with the discovery of an Antarctic ozone hole. The loss of stratospheric ozone would be catastrophic, as high levels of UV radiation have been linked to certain types of skin cancer, cataracts, and immunological disorders. The ozone layer also protects terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, as well as agriculture. Policy makers responded to the threat with the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, in which nations agreed to curtail the use of certain ozone-destroying substances. Subsequent amendments strengthened the treaty by expanding the list of ozone-destroying substances (such as halons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs) and accelerating the timeline for phasing out their use. The amendments were based on Input from the scientific community, including a number of NCAR scientists, that were summarized in quadrennial Ozone Assessment reports. To quantify the impacts of the treaty, the research team built a model known as the Atmospheric and Health Effects Framework. This model, which draws on various data sources about ozone, public health, and population demographics, consists of five computational steps. These simulate past and future emissions of ozone-destroying substances, the impacts of those substances on stratospheric ozone, the resulting changes in ground-level UV radiation, the U.S. population's exposure to UV radiation, and the incidence and mortality of health effects resulting from the exposure. The results showed UV radiation levels returning to 1980 levels by the mid-2040s under the amended treaty. In contrast, UV levels would have continued to increase throughout this century if the treaty had not been amended, and they would have soared far higher without any treaty at all.  Even with the amendments, the simulations show excess cases of cataracts and various types of skin cancer beginning to occur with the onset of ozone depletion and peaking decades later as the population exposed to the highest UV levels ages. Those born between 1900 and 2040 experience heightened cases of skin cancer and cataracts, with the worst health outcomes affecting those born between about 1950 and 2000. However, the health impacts would have been far more severe without the treaty, with cases of skin cancer and cataracts rising at an increasingly rapid rate through the century.  “We peeled away from disaster,” Lee-Taylor said. “What is eye popping is what would have happened by the end of this century if not for the Montreal Protocol. By 2080, the amount of UV has tripled. After that, our calculations for the health impacts start to break down because we're getting so far into conditions that have never been seen before.” The research team also found that more than half the treaty's health benefits could be traced to the later amendments rather than the original 1987 Montreal Protocol. Overall, the treaty prevented more than 99% of potential health impacts that would have otherwise occurred from ozone destruction. This showed the importance of the treaty's flexibility in adjusting to evolving scientific knowledge, the authors said. The researchers focused on the U.S. because of ready access to health data and population projections. Lee-Taylor said that the specific health outcomes in other countries may vary, but the overall trends would be similar. “The treaty had broad global benefits,” she said.     What is Boron? The trace mineral boron provides profound anti-cancer effects, in addition to maintaining stronger bones. Life Extension, September 2021 Boron is a trace mineral found in the earth's crust and in water. Its importance in human health has been underestimated. Boron has been shown to have actions against specific types of malignancies, such as: Cervical cancer: The country Turkey has an extremely low incidence of cervical cancer, and scientists partially attribute this to its boron-rich soil.1 When comparing women who live in boron-rich regions versus boron-poor regions of Turkey, not a single woman living in the boron-rich regions had any indication of cervical cancer.2(The mean dietary intake of boron for women in this group was 8.41 mg/day.)  Boron interferes with the life cycle of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is a contributing factor in approximately 95% of all cervical cancers.1  Considering that HPV viruses are increasingly implicated in head and neck cancers,3,4 supplementation with this ultra-low-cost mineral could have significant benefits in protecting against this malignancy that is increasing in prevalence. Lung cancer: A study conducted at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1995 and 2005 found that increased boron intake was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer in postmenopausal women who were taking hormone replacement therapy. Prostate cancer: Studies point to boron's ability to inhibit the growth and spread of prostate cancer cells.  In one study, when mice were exposed to boric acid, their tumors shrank by as much as 38%.6 One analysis found that increased dietary boron intake was associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer.7 Several human and animal studies have confirmed the important connection between boron and bone health. Boron prevents calcium loss,8 while also alleviating the bone problems associated with magnesium and vitamin D deficiency.9 All of these nutrients help maintain bone density. A study in female rats revealed the harmful effects a deficiency in boron has on bones, including:10 Decreased bone volume fraction, a measure of bone strength, Decreased thickness of the bone's spongy inner layer, and Decreased maximum force needed to break the femur. And in a study of post-menopausal women, supplementation with3 mg of boron per day prevented calcium loss and bone demineralization by reducing urinary excretion of both calcium and magnesium.8 In addition to its bone and anti-cancer benefits, there are nine additional reasons boron is an important trace mineral vital for health and longevity. It has been shown to:1 Greatly improve wound healing, Beneficially impact the body's use of estrogen, testosterone, and vitamin D, Boost magnesium absorption, Reduce levels of inflammatory biomarkers, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), Raise levels of antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, Protect against pesticide-induced oxidative stress and heavy-metal toxicity, Improve the brain's electrical activity, which may explain its benefits for cognitive performance, and short-term memory in the elderly, Influence the formation and activity of key biomolecules, such as S-adenosyl methionine (SAM-e) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), and Potentially help ameliorate the adverse effects of traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Because the amount of boron varies in the soil, based on geographical location, obtaining enough boron through diet alone can be difficult. Supplementing with low-cost boron is an effective way to maintain adequate levels of this overlooked micronutrient.

In this Episode, we interview Dean David Allison from the Indiana University Bloomington after his 2019 Edna Park Lecture entitled "Rigor in Obesity Research and its Communication: A Call for Renewed Commitment" where we discuss about rigor in scientific research and some advice for prospective researchers. Thank you to Manulife, our affinity sponsor, for supporting the student and alumni experience. Discover the benefits of affinity products here: https://uoft.me/DNSAA

Alex Kachurak studied public health and epidemiology at Temple University. She worked in the Center for Obesity Research and Education there for over 6 years under an excellent leader and manager, but she knew she needed to try something different in order to grow, so she took a chance on an unexpected industry for someone with her degree--she left the public health research world for a role in pharmaceutical research. Now, she and a colleague speak with other Temple University public health students about the opportunities for them in pharma. A few references you may be interested in reading more about: COVID-19 Vaccines: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/keythingstoknow.html?s_cid=11629:what%20is%20the%20covid%2019%20vaccine:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN.Grants:FY22Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University's College of Public Health: https://cph.temple.edu/departments-research/departments/social-and-behavioral-sciences/research/research-centers/centerKenneth “Ken” C. Frazier, Merck's executive chairman of the board: https://www.merck.com/leadership/kenneth-c-frazier/Follow along:whenyougrowup.orgwww.instagram.com/whenyougrowup_podcast/If you'd like to connect on LinkedIn, send me a message to say hello and let me know if you liked this episode: www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlynluboff-pmp  #wygupodcast #podcast #career #personalgrowth #professionalgrowth #mentor #rolemodel #professionaldevelopment #STEM #networking #research #clinicalresearch #observationalresearch #epidemiology #publichealth #cooking #nutrition #education #students #careerchange #templeuniversity

Dr Adrian Brown is a NIHR Lecturer and Research Fellow in the Centre of Obesity Research at University College London. He is also a senior Specialist Weight Management and Bariatric dietitian with over 15 years of clinical experience and a PhD in Medicine from Imperial College London. His research interests centre around obesity, type 2 diabetes, bariatric surgery, weight stigma and the use of formula-based diets in different patient populations. He is an Honorary Academic for Public Health England Obesity and Healthy Weight Team, on the strategic council for APPG on Obesity and is on the scientific council of the British Nutrition Foundation.   You can find the show notes to this episode at sigmanutrition.com/episode404/ and you can support the podcast at patreon.com/sigmanutrition/

In this episode, we bring you the third and final recording from the recent Evidence Based Eating NZ event in Dunedin. In this episode Professor Jim Mann discusses New Zealand's looming diabetes disaster and the role of plant-based diets in tackling this issue. Jim has been a Professor in Human Nutrition and Medicine at the University of Otago and a consultant Endocrinologist in Dunedin Hospital for 25 years.  Jim is also director of the Healthier Lives National Science Challenge and the Director of Edgar Diabetes and Obesity Research, the WHO Collaborating Centre for Human Nutrition and Principle Investigator for the Riddet Institute.Over the coming months, Evidence Based Eating NZ will be delivering their final two public lecture events in Auckland and Wellington that will highlight the power of plant-based whole foods to restore health to all New Zealanders. Please visit the Evidence Based Eating NZ website for more details and to register.

GET TRANSCRIPT AND FULL SHOWNOTES: melanieavalon.com/keto 2:20 - IF Biohackers: Intermittent Fasting + Real Foods + Life: Join Melanie's Facebook Group At Facebook.com/groups/paleoOMAD For A Weekly Episode GIVEAWAY, And To Discuss And Learn About All Things Biohacking! All Conversations Welcome! 2:30 - Follow Melanie On Instagram To See The Latest Moments, Products, And #AllTheThings! @MelanieAvalon 2:55 - FOOD SENSE GUIDE: Get Melanie's App At Melanieavalon.com/foodsenseguide To Tackle Your Food Sensitivities! Food Sense Includes A Searchable Catalogue Of 300+ Foods, Revealing Their Gluten, FODMAP, Lectin, Histamine, Amine, Glutamate, Oxalate, Salicylate, Sulfite, And Thiol Status. Food Sense Also Includes Compound Overviews, Reactions To Look For, Lists Of Foods High And Low In Them, The Ability To Create Your Own Personal Lists, And More! 3:25 - BEAUTYCOUNTER: Non-Toxic Beauty Products Tested For Heavy Metals, Which Support Skin Health And Look Amazing! Shop At beautycounter.com/melanieavalon For Something Magical! For Exclusive Offers And Discounts, And More On The Science Of Skincare, Get On Melanie's Private Beautycounter Email List At melanieavalon.com/cleanbeauty! Find Your Perfect Beautycounter Products With Melanie's Quiz: melanieavalon.com/beautycounterquiz 8:10 - The Importance Of The History Of The Keto Movement And Other Topics 9:30 - Investigating The Salt-Hypertension Hypothesis 13:05 - The Way Doctors Treat Patients 15:05 - The Mistake In Obesity Research 16:15 - Recapping The History: Are We Looking For Causation Or Correlation? 17:40 - Pathological Science 19:55 - Constitutional Hypothesis Of Obesity 22:50 - What Our Genes Determine 24:40 - DRY FARM WINES: Low Sugar, Low Alcohol, Toxin-Free, Mold- Free, Pesticide-Free, Hang-Over Free Natural Wine! Use The Link dryfarmwines.com/melanieavalon To Get A Bottle For A Penny! 26:20 - Genotypes And Phenotypes 29:45 - Metabolic Fitness Vs. Body Size 32:40 - Transitioning From A Traditional Diet To A Western Diet 33:05 - The Pima Indigenous Tribe 36:35 - What Does Insulin Do? 41:30 - Rising Insulin In The Morning 42:10 - Insulin Resistance 42:40 - Insulin As Fuel Partitioning 45:00 - Blood Glucose Content Throughout The Day 47:15 - The Conversion Of Carbs To Fat 50:55 - The Storage Of Fat Vs Carbohydrate 51:40 - The Glucose Fatty Acid Cycle 53:00 - The Insulin-Carb Hypothesis 55:00 - The Reason We Gain Weight 57:30 - The Fat Tissue In Obese People 58:40 - "Some Of Us Fatten Easily, And Some Of Us Don't" 1:01:25 - Insulin Dysregulation 1:02:45 - Starving The Fat Cells Of Fat 1:05:00 - HFLC VS HCLF 1:09:25 - Transitioning Out Of Low Fat Diets 1:10:50 - Misconceptions About Fat And Insulin 1:14:35 - LUMEN: The Lumen Breath Analyzer That Tells Your Body If You're Burning Carbs Or Fat For Energy! Get $25 Off A Lumen Device At melanieavalon.com/lumen With The Code melanieavalon25 1:19:25 - Measuring Insulin And Fatty Acids In The Blood 1:21:00 - Hormonal Dysregulation Of Fat Storage 1:22:40 - Hormones Vs. Excess Energy Intake 1:26:00 - Hormones And Enzymes Responding To The Types Of Food You Eat 1:26:45 - The Dichotomy Inside The Obesity Discussion 1:33:10 - A Hack For A Plateau In A HFLC Diet 1:35:50 - The Other Side Of The Hack 1:37:25 - The Downside Of Insulin Therapies On T1D 1:39:30 - Vintage Fats & The Idea Of Food As Medicine 1:42:05 - What Will It Take For Society To Change? 1:42:45 - Doctors Burning Out In The Current Medical System 1:43:25 - The Plant-Based Argument 

In this week's episode, we're looking back at our lives in lockdown, and asking - how has the pandemic changed our routine? We speak to UCL experts, Prof Patty Kostkova (Centre for Digital Public Health and Emergencies) and Dr Adrian Brown (UCL Centre for Obesity Research), to find out more about the impact Covid-19 has had on our diet, social interactions, exercise routines, and more.More info: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/coronavirusTranscript: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/coronavirus/transcript-episode-39If you've got a question about the pandemic you'd like UCL researchers to answer, please get in touch by emailing UCL's Communications and Marketing team on minds@ucl.ac.uk – we'd love to hear from you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's episode, we're looking back at our lives in lockdown, and asking - how has the pandemic changed our routine? We speak to UCL experts, Prof Patty Kostkova (Centre for Digital Public Health and Emergencies) and Dr Adrian Brown (UCL Centre for Obesity Research), to find out more about the impact Covid-19 has had on our diet, social interactions, exercise routines, and more. More info: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/coronavirus Transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/coronavirus/transcript-episode-39 If you’ve got a question about the pandemic you’d like UCL researchers to answer, please get in touch by emailing UCL’s Communications and Marketing team on minds@ucl.ac.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

In this episode of the PRS Global Open Keynotes Podcast, Scott Bartlett MD and David Sarwer PhD discuss the prevalence of facial masks as a result of coronavirus (Covid-19) and the judgments of attractiveness when the lower face is covered by a surgical mask. This episode discusses the following PRS Global Open article: “Beauty and the Mask” by Viren Patel, Daniel M. Mazzaferro, David B. Sarwer, and Scott P. Bartlett. Read it for free on PRSGlobalOpen.com: https://bit.ly/BeautytheMask Dr. Bartlett is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Professor of Plastic Surgery affiliated with the Centre for Human Appearance at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Sarwer is a clinical psychologist and Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at the College of Public Health at Temple University, also in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Center for Human Appearance with Dr. Bartlett for 20 years. Your host, Dr. Damian Marucci, is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Sydney in Australia. #PRSGlobalOpen #KeynotesPodcast #PlasticSurgery

In this episode of the PRS Global Open Keynotes Podcast, Scott Bartlett MD and David Sarwer PhD discuss the prevalence of facial masks as a result of coronavirus (Covid-19) and the judgments of attractiveness when the lower face is covered by a surgical mask. This episode discusses the following PRS Global Open article: “Beauty and the Mask” by Viren Patel, Daniel M. Mazzaferro, David B. Sarwer, and Scott P. Bartlett. Read it for free on PRSGlobalOpen.com: https://bit.ly/BeautytheMask Dr. Bartlett is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Professor of Plastic Surgery affiliated with the Centre for Human Appearance at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. In this episode of the PRS Global Open Keynotes Podcast, Scott Bartlett MD and David Sarwer PhD discuss the prevalence of facial masks as a result of coronavirus (Covid-19) and the judgments of attractiveness when the lower face is covered by a surgical mask. This episode discusses the following PRS Global Open article: “Beauty and the Mask” by Viren Patel, Daniel M. Mazzaferro, David B. Sarwer, and Scott P. Bartlett. Read it for free on PRSGlobalOpen.com: https://bit.ly/BeautytheMask Dr. Sarwer is a clinical psychologist and Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at the College of Public Health at Temple University, also in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Center for Human Appearance with Dr. Bartlett for 20 years. Your host, Dr. Damian Marucci, is a board-certified plastic surgeon and Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Sydney in Australia. #PRSGlobalOpen #KeynotesPodcast #PlasticSurgery

A obesidade é um fator de risco para o agravamento da covid-19 e morte pela doença tão importante quanto ser idoso. Essa é a sinalização de cientistas brasileiros que descobriram que os obesos correm perigo elevado, não importando idade, sexo, etnia ou comorbidades, como hipertensão, doença cardíaca, pulmonar ou diabetes. A doutora em Biologia Oral, Silvia Helena Sales Peres, professora da Universidade de São Paulo (USP), em Bauru, e coordenadora da revisão sistemática sobre o impacto da obesidade sobre a covid-19, é a entrevistada do CBN Vitória deste sábado (19). O estudo analisou dados de nove pesquisas com 6.577 pacientes infectados pelo Sars-Cov-2 na China, França, Espanha, Itália e Estados Unidos e o resultado, publicado na revista Obesity Research & Clinical Practice, revelou que quase 10% dos obesos infectados internados em unidades de terapia intensiva morreram. Uma das possíveis explicações, ainda em pesquisa pelos cientistas do mundo, é que o Sars-CoV-2 se multiplica nas células adiposas e que a gordura corporal sirva de reservatório “secreto” do vírus. "Pessoas com sobrepeso também têm risco aumentado, pois este cresce junto com os quilos na balança. Indivíduos acima do peso, mas que não chegam a ser obesos, já têm algum grau de inflamação e podem apresentar deficiências imunológicas", explica.

This week on Krush Performance, The War on Sugar continues with a special episode looking at new guidelines coming out of Canada that will help redefine the issues surrounding what is one of the greatest concerns facing global healthcare: obesity. We are joined by Dr. Aria Sharma, Professor of Medicine and Past-Chair in Obesity Research […] The post Krush Performance: Breaking Down Obesity – It’s Not Your Fault! appeared first on Radio Influence.

Alan speaks with Dr Mark Tremblay, Director of Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, regarding what we can do to reduce pandemic screen time with our children. 

It is scientifically proven that customized approaches in weight management lead to greater engagement and behavior change than generic approaches. WW, formerly Weight Watchers, has a new program called myWW that includes an evidence-based personalized assessment asking a range of questions to guide you to a scientifically proven, customized plan that aligns with your needs. Gary Foster, PhD, is the Chief Scientific Officer at WW, a psychologist, obesity investigator and behavior change expert who has authored more than 175 scientific publications and three books. In his role as CSO at WW, Dr. Foster oversees the science-based program, all clinical research initiatives, and continued program advances. Dr. Foster was previously the Director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education at Temple University and served as a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. Tune in to learn more about how customized weight management supports behavior change, and get the full shownotes at www.SoundBitesRD.com/135. This episode is a sponsored partnership with WW.

Associate Professor Leonie Heilbronn is the leader of the Obesity and Metabolism group based at the University of Adelaide, Australia. She has a sustained record of translating basic discoveries in nutrition to humans and has contributed to current concepts of caloric restriction (CR), intermittent fasting (IF) and time restricted eating (TRE) in humans. She is keenly interested in understanding mechanisms of insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and in adipose tissue utilising nutritional perturbations. She is an Associate Editor of Obesity and Obesity Research and Clinical Practice. Show Notes: https://sigmanutrition.com/episode302

DO NOT MISS this explosive episode of All Fired Up! The Obesity Collective is a sparkly new organisation gaining attention nationwide for its ostensibly ‘collaborative’ approach to ‘tackling’ obesity, whilst simultaneously erasing weight stigma (oh please how much of a mindboggle is that?!). But who are they really? My guest this week is Mandy-Lee Noble, anti-diet dietitian from Nourished Approach in Brisbane, and she has had a GUTFUL of industry interests penetrating our health narrative. Once we dug a little deeper into The Obesity Collective we found that the tentacles of Big Pharma have a firm hold on the goolies of all our so-called ‘independent’ Obesity organisations. You won’t believe how deep this goes. Next time you read a hysterical news headline highlighting the terrors of Obesity Epidemic, know who funded it!     ShowNotes     Content warning and Apology !! This episode contains multiple uses of the word ‘obesity’. This is a stigmatising term and not one I nor my guest Mandy Lee Noble are comfortable using. However, as the topic of this episode is all about an organisation called The Obesity Collective, there are a lot of “O” words used. There are also lots of swear words to make up for it! My guest, dietitian Mandy-Lee Noble is all fired up about conflicts of interest and vested interests in health care, and within weight centric research and industries in particular. Mandy & Louise fell down a massive rabbithole when they accidentally stumbled across a particularly troubling example of this, the subject of today’s podcast. During a HAES Australia leadership meeting, we came across the “Obesity Australia” website, and their “fact sheets” were rather hilarious. These fact sheets contained not just outdated, but frankly very bizarre advice regarding weight loss. “Obesity Australia” are ostensibly one of Australia’s leading ‘authorities’ on obesity, and many of the country’s leading researchers, practitioners etc, are involved. And yet the fact sheets look like they were thrown together by either a year 9 school boy or an elderly person with very little connection to the real world. One of the ‘fact’ sheets was about drinks you should be having to lose weight, written by former head of Obesity Australia John Funder, whose diet tips have come directly from 1935. He recommends “egg flips” and “Miss Muffett’s favourite tipple, curds and whey”. Does ANYONE know what an egg flip is? And what about curds and whey?? He then goes on to rage against fish and chips, and goes on a bizarre rant telling us to strip the fish and chips of batter, and ‘put it amongst the pickled onion’. What is he even talking about here? Where did the pickled onion even come from? 1970? John also has a huge grudge against potato crisps, which he says are ‘lethal’. Now Mandy, being a bit of a rebel, has on several occasions since reading that thrown caution to the wind and deliberately and vigorously eaten said lethal crisps, and has lived to tell the tale. Another tip was to ‘drink coke zero’, to ‘fool yourself into eating slightly less’. This tip appears to have come from Weight Watchers in circa 1980. Mandy believes this may work through the process of being forced to eat slightly less because you have no teeth! Seriously what’s with the totally SHIT advice here? This is from a highly regarded and very knowledgeable researcher? It’s encouraging behaviours that overall are not hugely health supportive, all in the name of weight loss! John also ‘recommends’ that a ‘rule of thumb’ is to always weigh the same as you did at the age of 25, even if we have less bone and muscle mass as a result. All of the actual research would contest that: there is a plethora of evidence to show that as we age we do get heavier, and preserving muscle mass as we age is very health supportive. It’s quite literally the opposite of what science tells us. People at a higher body mass are actually often healthier than smaller people as they age. Some of the information in the fact sheets started to lead us down a rabbit hole. One of them, written by Professor Joseph Proietto (who does not reveal his association with multiple pharmaceutical companies), states that most people who lose weight will not keep it off, and will regain, so he recommends the use of appetite suppressing medication. As we read, it became apparent that an agenda was peppered throughout these ‘fact’ sheets’. Repeatedly given is the message that most people who lose weight will regain it; that obesity is ‘a disease process’. We experienced a growing sense of unease - just who are Obesity Australia, and who is behind these organisations that claim expertise and leadership in the area of so-called ‘obesity’? People right now may not be hearing from Obesity Australia as much as “The Obesity Collective”. Now, this might sound like a trendy cafe or a tragic boy band, but it’s actually them who have featured in the media quite a bit in Australia recently. “The Obesity Collective” was launched on 31 July 2018 (happy first anniversary!), at a swanky reception at the Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney’s $500 million hub for the study of ‘lifestyle diseases’ such as obesity. Headed by Professor Stephen Simpson, who also happens to be the head of The Obesity Collective. The Obesity Collective describes itself as “a group of committed individuals and organisations from across the community, working together to take on the obesity challenge together, with empathy and a whole of society perspective”. Doesn’t that sound warm, fuzzy….and a little bit scary! Mandy thinks they’re a bit ‘fast and loose’ with words like empathy! So Stephen Simpson is the academic director of the Charles Perkins Centre, and the executive director of Obesity Australia. Professor Simpson’s research interests are probably not what you’d expect: “Developing an integrative modelling framework for nutrition using insects that has been applied to a wide range of organisms, from slime moulds to humans, and problems, including the dietary causes of human obesity and ageing. He has also revolutionised understanding of swarming in locusts, with research spanning neurochemical events within the brains of individual locusts to continental-scale mass migration.” How much has he studied empathy within locust populations? Potentially more than he’s studied it within humans! Professor Simpson has accomplished a lot in his career, he went to Oxford University, and he’s one of these charismatic figures. He is definitely bringing a hip, urban edge to the Charles Perkins Centre, and also to the Obesity Collective, really trying to make it look engaging, warm and welcoming. He’s trying to portray the Obesity Collective as a great collection of warm and wonderful people who are going to combat not only obesity but obesity stigma, which is...an interesting challenge. Professor Simpson recently appeared on ABC’s The Drum program, on a show about obesity and fat shaming. Professor Jenny Lee was on (academic and fat activist), as was someone with ‘lived experience’ who was actually one of the Nepean Obesity Service’s weight loss ‘success stories’. Sarah Harry from Body Positive Australia was also featured, but did not appear live and wasn’t given enough screen time as someone in a larger body not riddled with internalised weight stigma. Jenny Lee was also somewhat sidelined by Professor Simpson, who remained resolute in his attitude that body size is a disease. The message of the show was definitely skewed towards eradicating the ‘problem’ of obesity, but let’s be nice about it. No amount of empathic-sounding buzz words can disguise the true intention. Professor Simpson asked Jenny Lee to join the Obesity Collective, but she declined. So the Obesity Collective’s launch at the Charles Perkins Centre in 2018 was funded by Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company traditionally known for its production of insulin, but with a flooded market, has recently turned its hand to producing weight loss drugs. The Collective is trying to recruit different organisations and individuals including: NGOs, Academics, Young Entrepreneurs, The Private Sector, Community Leaders, Government, Healthcare Providers and people with lived experience. We couldn’t see any evidence that people with lived experience are actually a part of the Collective, there’s just this statement on their website that they’re there. Novo Nordisk have described themselves to be ‘active members’ of The Obesity Collective. It’s very prominent on their website that Novo is the Collective’s main funder. So what have the Obesity Collective achieved in their first year? They’ve been really good at raising the panic button. They’ve been in the media - not just the Drum, but radio, and print media. So they’re getting attention. They released a report called “Weighing in: Australia’s Growing Obesity Epidemic”. The report outlines statistics around the prevalence of obesity in Australia and bangs on about how much fatter we’ll be at this rate and how many diseases are caused by fatness. The cheekiest part of the report is where they re-cycle the statistics on the apparent economic cost projections of obesity, which they took directly from Obesity Australia’s 2015 report which was prepared by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and sponsored by Novo Nordisk. (more about them later in the conversation). !! The 2019 report did not disclose any funding from Novo Nordisk, it said it was authored by The Obesity Collective without naming who actually wrote it. But substantial sections have been taken directly from a previous report which had unlimited funding from Novo Nordisk. The Obesity Collective have also released a ‘fact sheet’ in which they say that obesity is ‘not just about personal responsibility’. Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective just don’t get that the very framing of obesity is stigmatising. They really don’t get stigma. They actually think weight stigma is their tool to try to get people to lose weight (like take weight loss drugs!). And weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda, if you can tolerate the side effects, will maybe give you very modest weight loss results - if you can believe their own industry funded research! In 2015 in Australia, Novo Nordisk got TGA approval for their new weight loss drug, Saxenda. Since then, they have been quite aggressive in their tactics in raising awareness of how ‘awful’ obesity is and how urgent it is that we ‘act’. Through avenues such as these organisations, Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective. The Obesity Collective also provided a submission to the Senate Select Committee on the ‘obesity epidemic’ - as did HAES Australia. In their submission to the committee, they said ‘we are working to transform the way society thinks, speaks and acts on obesity to reduce the impact obesity has on all of us”. What a mind fuck of a statement! In one part, they claim to be working to de stigmatise obesity, in the next breath, they stigmatise it all over again. What they are aiming to do - eradicate larger people - is implicitly stigmatising. They think stigma is a barrier to weight loss. They want people not to feel stigmatised coming in and asking for weight loss drugs. Mandy & Louise have been blown away by how pervasive the industry funding is in this area. We don’t have enough time or woman hours to delve completely, but this rabbit hole is massive. In their submission, The Obesity Collective stipulate the causes of obesity to be genetic, epigenetic, and biological drivers. But on the next breath they say this does not excuse people from committing to try to lose weight. So again, in one breath stating how body weight is not within our control, in the next demanding that we as individuals keep trying to control it. This thread runs throughout: on the one hand, all of the recognition of the science is there, and an almost HAES-y style of writing, and on the other, we’re back to keep trying to lose weight! Same science: different conclusions. They also referred to the Novo-funded report from 2015 in their submission, saying that the overall direct costs of obesity to Australia in 2011-12 Australia were determined to be $3.8 billion, while indirect costs were calculated to be $4.8 billion (PWC 2015). But if you compare even this figure (which Mandy really doesn’t think is totally convincing), considering that our total health expenditure for 2011-12 was $150 billion, then it’s just a drop in the ocean of our health care spending, hardly the health sector crushing scenario we’re often given. The same report also argued that the costs incurred from the stigma of obesity, including discrimination across education, work, and social spheres, is ‘incalculable’. It’s so much more than the actual cost! They are using stigma for their own agenda. These ‘reports’ put out by bodies such as the Obesity Collective or Obesity Australia are always the same format: 1. Obesity is bad, and getting worse, 2. obesity causes all sorts of diseases, 3. obesity is going to cripple our health system, and 4. we MUST urgently act and do something. And - it’s not your fault and it’s hard to fix - so - here’s some thing (ie drugs, put them on the PBS). But who are The Obesity Collective? They are actually a subsidiary of Obesity Australia. Essentially, Obesity Australia are the parent company of the Obesity Collective. Obesity Australia are a registered charity, and they have been in operation since 2011. They describe themselves as “an independent, not-for-profit, legal entity’. The ‘independent’ angle is interesting, because Obesity Australia receives most of its funding from industry ‘partners’, including Weight Watchers, Allergan (a pharma company who make the lap bands), and other pharma companies including inova and Novo Nordisk, who gave around $200 000 to Obesity Australia between 2011 and 2015. In 2011, Allergan kicked in quite a bit of money to get Obesity Australia started - around $150 000. Over 3 years they kicked in around $300 000. Allergan had actually gained a lot of cred for helping to fund these organisations, it helped them to be seen as a company doing ‘good’. But it wasn’t all good: Allergan, and the Centre for Obesity Research (CORE) in Melbourne received negative publicity in the media when their plans to target poor and Aboriginal teenagers for their weight loss experiments were disclosed to the media. Between 2011 and 2015, Obesity Australia received just over $1 million in funding. Of this, 80% was spent on “Board Expenses” and ‘consultancy’. Of that, 30% was “Board expenses”. Tax concessions also apply as this is a charity. It’s a LOT of money for all of that independence. And what exactly are these ‘Board expenses”? Many of the Board members of Obesity Australia have also received other money (for consultancy fees etc) from the pharma companies. Since 2015, Novo Nordisk has provided Obesity Australia with ‘unrestricted grants’ to produce reports about how dire the obesity epidemic is, and the URGENT need for interventions, including - no surprises here - pharmacological medicines. It is an urgent need for Novo, because in 2015 they finally got their weight loss drug Saxenda approved by the TGA. They’re not even bothering to hide it - on the Obesity Australia website you can click through to a presentation by Novo Nordisk to Obesity Australia in which they blatantly reveal that Novo are committed to ‘create legitimacy and urgency for the medical management of obesity’. Really, what Novo are after is to have obesity declared a disease: if this happens, they can push their drugs more heavily and even get weight loss drugs on the PBS, a massive potential windfall for them. The principles of Obesity Australia and the principles of Novo Nordisk are very much aligned with each other. Even the Charles Perkins Centre refer to obesity as a ‘disease’, when actually it’s not. In Australia, the Australian Medical Association do not classify higher body weight as a disease, nor do the World Health Organisation. They do talk about weight being a risk factor, but not a disease within itself. There are many people in larger bodies with no or very few health issues, if we classify this as a disease suddenly a whole pile of people become suddenly sick. How we think about our health status can really impact on our actual health status. And the influence of Novo Nordisk does not end with funding for Obesity Australia, and the unlimited funding for their ‘reports’. In the newly formed Obesity Collective, 8 of their academics on their boards receive direct financial benefits from Novo Nordisk, for consultancy, travel costs, etc, another couple of academics work at an institutions that receive funding from Novo Nordisk and a further 4 people on the Board are employed by PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC). Which is interesting, because Novo Nordisk is a well established and long existing client of the multinational auditors PriceWaterhouseCooper. One of the academics enjoying funding from Novo Nordisk is Professor Stephen Simpson himself - the head of The Obesity Collective, Obesity Australia, and The Charles Perkins Centre. He has just received a grant for his research Ancestral causes of obesity: Understanding epigenetic transmission by spermatozoa; with co-author Romain Barres, Professor, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Professor Barres enjoys unlimited research funding from Novo. This information is not being hidden, it is right there on the Charles Perkins Centre website on Professor Simpson’s information page. It’s hard to find academics involved in Obesity Australia who are not being paid by Novo Nordisk in some capacity. And this reaches beyond the Obesity Collective and Obesity Australia, because Novo Nordisk are busily paying our medical doctors and health professionals as well. According to a news article from Crikey, Novo have spent $3.2 million over 3 years on speaker fees and for experts to sit on its medical advisory boards. Novo’s declarations show 1300 separate payments to Australian GP’s, nurses and specialists over 3 years, with recurring payments to a handful of prominent specialists. Basically, Novo are hell bent on creating an air of scientific legitimacy to penetrate a potentially very lucrative market. The Obesity Australia website has a ‘response’ to ‘recent media attention’ which is really talking about the Crikey series of articles. They don’t actually refute anything that was said in the articles, they simply say that Novo is not their only funding source! They also said that Obesity Australia relies mainly on ‘unpaid volunteers’, which Mandy calls bullshit on! Unless these volunteers are working a million hours, this is simply not true! In their financial reports, there are less than a handful of individuals who are actually listed as volunteers. It said that they have strict guidelines about industry funding and that any engagement with ‘third parties’ are passed through their industry guidelines - “Obesity Australia is transparent around funding and projects that are funded by third parties are passed through our engagement with industry guidelines. These consider the nature of the project to be funded in relation to potential conflicts of interest (real or perceived), and the degree of alignment between the commercial interests of the funder and improving the lives of those living with obesity.” We do have to say that we don’t know the ins and outs of Obesity Australia’s funding from 2017 onwards as they have not posted any financial statements yet. From 2015 onwards Obesity Australia’s financial reports became a lot less detailed. In 2015, Obesity Australia changed and was taken into the Charles Perkins Centre: “Obesity Australia, founded in 2011 has now joined with the Charles Perkins Centre, which will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Obesity Australia. Obesity Australia remains in independent legal entity and will continue to be governed by the OA Board.” So we now have a lot less detailed financial information about the ins and outs of funding for Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective, but we know that Novo Nordisk are still a major player in The Obesity Collective. Their logo is all over the Obesity Collective website. It is interesting because the Charles Perkins Centre really pride themselves on actually researching the impact of industry funding on how research and how knowledge is produced. None of the Charles Perkins research on the impact of industry funding has been directed towards Novo Nordisk. In September 2018 there was a flurry of media attention to the Charles Perkins research which showed that industry funding had a huge impact on research outcomes. Basically, corporate funding will skew the results towards industry not the people. Disclosure of payments by pharma and industry is important. Professor Simpson himself has had a lot to say about industry funding, coming out against Coke funding research at the Boden Centre for Obesity Research at the University of Sydney. Professor Simpson said that the Charles Perkins Centre had ‘strict guidelines’ regarding engagement with industry. And Louise had a look at these, and they basically say it’s really important for the centre to engage with industry. So there you go! So they are saying as long as we are transparent about our engagement with industry, it’s ok. Professor Simpson is actually also the Director of the engagement with industry committee! To their credit, The Charles Perkins Centre are transparent on their websites about Novo Nordisk funding their launch, about Professor Simpson’s research grant, and the unlimited research grants from Novo to write a series of reports about how awful the ‘obesity epidemic’ is, but there is a lot missing as well. Off the back of these reports came a shit tonne of publicity. Louise counted 11 different news articles in which the contents of these reports were discussed by either Professor Simpson or one of the Obesity Australia board members, and not once is the industry link mentioned in any of these press releases. This means that for the average person, there is no transparency. The average person would need to visit the website and trawl around to see who is funding the Obesity Collective in order to know. This is NOT transparent. There is a narrative being created which is being orchestrated by big pharma. Mandy has been asked to become involved in this world, but as a completely independent dietitian she declined. We will do a whole podcast on Saxenda, because we don’t have time now! Because the way the research is being conducted needs to be discussed. Also, Novo have more weight loss drugs in the pipeline, and Australians are being targeted for their market. With sparkly shopfronts like The Obesity Collective, positioned in prestigious universities, it’s really hard for the average person to figure out what science is really saying, and what marketing and funding is doing to how we think about all of this. Sydney uni and the Charles Perkins Centre even put on an entire event called “fighting truth decay” which was all about how industry funding can get in the way of seeing the truth! And who hosted it - you guessed it - Professor Locust! What a great technique to build trust, to be a university who talk about the corrupting influence of industry funding. But then to still do it??? Another of the Charles Perkins Centre events was about lived experience of ‘obesity’, but lo and behold they did not bother to record that! Speaking of lived experience, the Obesity Collective say they have this section called the “Weight Issues Network” which is apparently for people with lived experience ‘and their carers’ (condescending much??). But Mandy and Louise could find no evidence of this actually existing. Louise even emailed them asking to join, and so far - no response… In fact - CRICKETS!! How ironic that the lived experience of people in larger bodies is being erased by the Obesity Collective - who do not seem to have any larger people involved. There’s not even a picture of a larger person on their website, I mean COME ON. On the Obesity Australia website you can click through and see the members and they are all small. This is awful to see a committee writing about what they should do to solve the ‘problem’ of larger bodies…...with no one larger in sight. Maybe The Obesity Collective need to think about the reality of inviting people to be involved in a collective that wants to literally obliterate people who look like them. Representation is important, and this is not happening because this organisation cannot see past their own noses. Still stuck in 1935. We’ll end on a really scary quote from a Reuters story from 2017 about Novo where the CEO is talking about taking a ‘bet’ on obesity. “I see a huge opportunity in obesity and I don’t see a lot of competitors moving into the space,” he told Reuters during a visit to London.” “Saxenda only accounts for 2 percent of Novo’s overall sales but analysts expect it to sell more than $1 billion by 2023, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters. “ So - the big agenda is for companies like Novo Nordisk to provide funding to organisations like Obesity Australia and The Obesity Collective, to push to have Obesity declared as a disease, so they can increase the market for their weight loss drugs. If they can get their drugs on the PBS, there is huge profit involved. What has completely done our heads in throughout are the claims made by Obesity Collective - to be inclusive (no), to de-stigmatise (no), to be mindful of health inequalities (no), to be informed by evidence and prepared to innovate (oh my god), and to DISCLOSE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST! Which they do - but only if you look really, really hard. The Obesity Collective is a lovely smokescreen, and media reports are still not disclosing the funding. Everyone - please post pics of you eating those ‘lethal’ potato chips!   Resources Mentioned Find Mandy-Lee Noble on her website, on facebook, or email her at mandy@nourishedapproach.com.au The Obesity Collective website (also the Obesity Australia website) The 1935 factsheet about Curds ‘n Whey “Drinks That Make It Worse (!)” Serious prejudice against fish and chips The infamous potato chips as lethal ‘fact sheet’ Joseph Proietto’s fact sheet about the need for weight loss medication All about Professor Stephen Simpson, head of the Charles Perkins Centre, Executive Director of Obesity Australia, and head of The Obesity Collective. The Drum Episode The “Weighing In: Australia’s Growing Obesity Epidemic” report from The Obesity Collective Negative news stories about Allergan targeting poor and Aboriginal teens for their weight loss experiments More negative publicity about conflicts of interest in Australian obesity ‘experts’. The Novo Nordisk presentation where they blatantly reveal their aim to penetrate the Australian market (look under ‘resources from the 2015 summit’). Professor Simpson’s research grant buddy Romain Barr and his Novo affiliation. Professor Simpson’s Charles Perkins Centre Information page with his research grant from Novo. Just some of the payments made by Novo Nordisk to Australian health professionals. The Crikey articles discussing Novo’s plans to infiltrate Australia - there are a series of 4 articles, read them all: https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/01/obesity-politics-money-company-novo-nordisk/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/02/betting-obesity-benefits-disease-classification/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/03/commercial-bet-obesity-designed-create-the-market/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/04/betting-on-obesity-winning-hearts-minds-pockets-doctors/ Obesity Australia’s response to the Crikey articles Sydney University research on the impact of industry funding on outcomes: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/02/21/industry-funding-biases-drug-study-findings-.html https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/16/pharmaceutical-companies-spent-34m-on-patient-advocacy-groups-research-finds https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/anything-to-declare-corporate-influence-in-medical Professor Simpson being all fired up about industry funding with Coke The Charles Perkins centre transparency guidelines for working with industry 11 news articles featuring The Obesity Collective or its members in which Novo Nordisk funding was not mentioned: https://www.smh.com.au/national/that-was-the-most-heartbreaking-part-australia-s-obesity-epidemic-out-of-control-20190326-p517l5.html https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/research-shows-australians-must-lose-weight-to-save-money-and-help-improve-the-economy/news-story/d4618d77c9d04d14d6f5d3eed04c6185 https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/22/how-to-talk-to-a-loved-one-about-their-weight_a_21472370/ https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/‘we-can-really-call-this-an-epidemic’-obesity-rate https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/while-politicians-refuse-to-act-australians-become-more-overweight-20181113-p50fu9.html https://www.afr.com/leadership/fatness-debunked-as-obesity-expert-says-its-not-your-fault-20181113-h17trg https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/personal-responsibility-not-way-to-fix-obesity-crisis-20180801-p4zuwu.html https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/lets-get-creative-in-the-fight-against-obesity-20151201-glcy0v.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/25/obesity-cost-in-australia_n_9199240.html https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/obesity-australia-summit-2018-a-new-approach-to-a https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/the-obesity-collective/10056982 The Charles Perkins’ Centre event Fighting Truth Decay Scary story from Reuters about Novo and how it’s taking a ‘bet’ on obesity.

DO NOT MISS this explosive episode of All Fired Up! The Obesity Collective is a sparkly new organisation gaining attention nationwide for its ostensibly ‘collaborative’ approach to ‘tackling’ obesity, whilst simultaneously erasing weight stigma (oh please how much of a mindboggle is that?!). But who are they really? My guest this week is Mandy-Lee Noble, anti-diet dietitian from Nourished Approach in Brisbane, and she has had a GUTFUL of industry interests penetrating our health narrative. Once we dug a little deeper into The Obesity Collective we found that the tentacles of Big Pharma have a firm hold on the goolies of all our so-called ‘independent’ Obesity organisations. You won’t believe how deep this goes. Next time you read a hysterical news headline highlighting the terrors of Obesity Epidemic, know who funded it!     ShowNotes     Content warning and Apology !! This episode contains multiple uses of the word ‘obesity’. This is a stigmatising term and not one I nor my guest Mandy Lee Noble are comfortable using. However, as the topic of this episode is all about an organisation called The Obesity Collective, there are a lot of “O” words used. There are also lots of swear words to make up for it! My guest, dietitian Mandy-Lee Noble is all fired up about conflicts of interest and vested interests in health care, and within weight centric research and industries in particular. Mandy & Louise fell down a massive rabbithole when they accidentally stumbled across a particularly troubling example of this, the subject of today’s podcast. During a HAES Australia leadership meeting, we came across the “Obesity Australia” website, and their “fact sheets” were rather hilarious. These fact sheets contained not just outdated, but frankly very bizarre advice regarding weight loss. “Obesity Australia” are ostensibly one of Australia’s leading ‘authorities’ on obesity, and many of the country’s leading researchers, practitioners etc, are involved. And yet the fact sheets look like they were thrown together by either a year 9 school boy or an elderly person with very little connection to the real world. One of the ‘fact’ sheets was about drinks you should be having to lose weight, written by former head of Obesity Australia John Funder, whose diet tips have come directly from 1935. He recommends “egg flips” and “Miss Muffett’s favourite tipple, curds and whey”. Does ANYONE know what an egg flip is? And what about curds and whey?? He then goes on to rage against fish and chips, and goes on a bizarre rant telling us to strip the fish and chips of batter, and ‘put it amongst the pickled onion’. What is he even talking about here? Where did the pickled onion even come from? 1970? John also has a huge grudge against potato crisps, which he says are ‘lethal’. Now Mandy, being a bit of a rebel, has on several occasions since reading that thrown caution to the wind and deliberately and vigorously eaten said lethal crisps, and has lived to tell the tale. Another tip was to ‘drink coke zero’, to ‘fool yourself into eating slightly less’. This tip appears to have come from Weight Watchers in circa 1980. Mandy believes this may work through the process of being forced to eat slightly less because you have no teeth! Seriously what’s with the totally SHIT advice here? This is from a highly regarded and very knowledgeable researcher? It’s encouraging behaviours that overall are not hugely health supportive, all in the name of weight loss! John also ‘recommends’ that a ‘rule of thumb’ is to always weigh the same as you did at the age of 25, even if we have less bone and muscle mass as a result. All of the actual research would contest that: there is a plethora of evidence to show that as we age we do get heavier, and preserving muscle mass as we age is very health supportive. It’s quite literally the opposite of what science tells us. People at a higher body mass are actually often healthier than smaller people as they age. Some of the information in the fact sheets started to lead us down a rabbit hole. One of them, written by Professor Joseph Proietto (who does not reveal his association with multiple pharmaceutical companies), states that most people who lose weight will not keep it off, and will regain, so he recommends the use of appetite suppressing medication. As we read, it became apparent that an agenda was peppered throughout these ‘fact’ sheets’. Repeatedly given is the message that most people who lose weight will regain it; that obesity is ‘a disease process’. We experienced a growing sense of unease - just who are Obesity Australia, and who is behind these organisations that claim expertise and leadership in the area of so-called ‘obesity’? People right now may not be hearing from Obesity Australia as much as “The Obesity Collective”. Now, this might sound like a trendy cafe or a tragic boy band, but it’s actually them who have featured in the media quite a bit in Australia recently. “The Obesity Collective” was launched on 31 July 2018 (happy first anniversary!), at a swanky reception at the Charles Perkins Centre, the University of Sydney’s $500 million hub for the study of ‘lifestyle diseases’ such as obesity. Headed by Professor Stephen Simpson, who also happens to be the head of The Obesity Collective. The Obesity Collective describes itself as “a group of committed individuals and organisations from across the community, working together to take on the obesity challenge together, with empathy and a whole of society perspective”. Doesn’t that sound warm, fuzzy….and a little bit scary! Mandy thinks they’re a bit ‘fast and loose’ with words like empathy! So Stephen Simpson is the academic director of the Charles Perkins Centre, and the executive director of Obesity Australia. Professor Simpson’s research interests are probably not what you’d expect: “Developing an integrative modelling framework for nutrition using insects that has been applied to a wide range of organisms, from slime moulds to humans, and problems, including the dietary causes of human obesity and ageing. He has also revolutionised understanding of swarming in locusts, with research spanning neurochemical events within the brains of individual locusts to continental-scale mass migration.” How much has he studied empathy within locust populations? Potentially more than he’s studied it within humans! Professor Simpson has accomplished a lot in his career, he went to Oxford University, and he’s one of these charismatic figures. He is definitely bringing a hip, urban edge to the Charles Perkins Centre, and also to the Obesity Collective, really trying to make it look engaging, warm and welcoming. He’s trying to portray the Obesity Collective as a great collection of warm and wonderful people who are going to combat not only obesity but obesity stigma, which is...an interesting challenge. Professor Simpson recently appeared on ABC’s The Drum program, on a show about obesity and fat shaming. Professor Jenny Lee was on (academic and fat activist), as was someone with ‘lived experience’ who was actually one of the Nepean Obesity Service’s weight loss ‘success stories’. Sarah Harry from Body Positive Australia was also featured, but did not appear live and wasn’t given enough screen time as someone in a larger body not riddled with internalised weight stigma. Jenny Lee was also somewhat sidelined by Professor Simpson, who remained resolute in his attitude that body size is a disease. The message of the show was definitely skewed towards eradicating the ‘problem’ of obesity, but let’s be nice about it. No amount of empathic-sounding buzz words can disguise the true intention. Professor Simpson asked Jenny Lee to join the Obesity Collective, but she declined. So the Obesity Collective’s launch at the Charles Perkins Centre in 2018 was funded by Novo Nordisk, a pharmaceutical company traditionally known for its production of insulin, but with a flooded market, has recently turned its hand to producing weight loss drugs. The Collective is trying to recruit different organisations and individuals including: NGOs, Academics, Young Entrepreneurs, The Private Sector, Community Leaders, Government, Healthcare Providers and people with lived experience. We couldn’t see any evidence that people with lived experience are actually a part of the Collective, there’s just this statement on their website that they’re there. Novo Nordisk have described themselves to be ‘active members’ of The Obesity Collective. It’s very prominent on their website that Novo is the Collective’s main funder. So what have the Obesity Collective achieved in their first year? They’ve been really good at raising the panic button. They’ve been in the media - not just the Drum, but radio, and print media. So they’re getting attention. They released a report called “Weighing in: Australia’s Growing Obesity Epidemic”. The report outlines statistics around the prevalence of obesity in Australia and bangs on about how much fatter we’ll be at this rate and how many diseases are caused by fatness. The cheekiest part of the report is where they re-cycle the statistics on the apparent economic cost projections of obesity, which they took directly from Obesity Australia’s 2015 report which was prepared by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and sponsored by Novo Nordisk. (more about them later in the conversation). !! The 2019 report did not disclose any funding from Novo Nordisk, it said it was authored by The Obesity Collective without naming who actually wrote it. But substantial sections have been taken directly from a previous report which had unlimited funding from Novo Nordisk. The Obesity Collective have also released a ‘fact sheet’ in which they say that obesity is ‘not just about personal responsibility’. Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective just don’t get that the very framing of obesity is stigmatising. They really don’t get stigma. They actually think weight stigma is their tool to try to get people to lose weight (like take weight loss drugs!). And weight loss drugs like Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda, if you can tolerate the side effects, will maybe give you very modest weight loss results - if you can believe their own industry funded research! In 2015 in Australia, Novo Nordisk got TGA approval for their new weight loss drug, Saxenda. Since then, they have been quite aggressive in their tactics in raising awareness of how ‘awful’ obesity is and how urgent it is that we ‘act’. Through avenues such as these organisations, Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective. The Obesity Collective also provided a submission to the Senate Select Committee on the ‘obesity epidemic’ - as did HAES Australia. In their submission to the committee, they said ‘we are working to transform the way society thinks, speaks and acts on obesity to reduce the impact obesity has on all of us”. What a mind fuck of a statement! In one part, they claim to be working to de stigmatise obesity, in the next breath, they stigmatise it all over again. What they are aiming to do - eradicate larger people - is implicitly stigmatising. They think stigma is a barrier to weight loss. They want people not to feel stigmatised coming in and asking for weight loss drugs. Mandy & Louise have been blown away by how pervasive the industry funding is in this area. We don’t have enough time or woman hours to delve completely, but this rabbit hole is massive. In their submission, The Obesity Collective stipulate the causes of obesity to be genetic, epigenetic, and biological drivers. But on the next breath they say this does not excuse people from committing to try to lose weight. So again, in one breath stating how body weight is not within our control, in the next demanding that we as individuals keep trying to control it. This thread runs throughout: on the one hand, all of the recognition of the science is there, and an almost HAES-y style of writing, and on the other, we’re back to keep trying to lose weight! Same science: different conclusions. They also referred to the Novo-funded report from 2015 in their submission, saying that the overall direct costs of obesity to Australia in 2011-12 Australia were determined to be $3.8 billion, while indirect costs were calculated to be $4.8 billion (PWC 2015). But if you compare even this figure (which Mandy really doesn’t think is totally convincing), considering that our total health expenditure for 2011-12 was $150 billion, then it’s just a drop in the ocean of our health care spending, hardly the health sector crushing scenario we’re often given. The same report also argued that the costs incurred from the stigma of obesity, including discrimination across education, work, and social spheres, is ‘incalculable’. It’s so much more than the actual cost! They are using stigma for their own agenda. These ‘reports’ put out by bodies such as the Obesity Collective or Obesity Australia are always the same format: 1. Obesity is bad, and getting worse, 2. obesity causes all sorts of diseases, 3. obesity is going to cripple our health system, and 4. we MUST urgently act and do something. And - it’s not your fault and it’s hard to fix - so - here’s some thing (ie drugs, put them on the PBS). But who are The Obesity Collective? They are actually a subsidiary of Obesity Australia. Essentially, Obesity Australia are the parent company of the Obesity Collective. Obesity Australia are a registered charity, and they have been in operation since 2011. They describe themselves as “an independent, not-for-profit, legal entity’. The ‘independent’ angle is interesting, because Obesity Australia receives most of its funding from industry ‘partners’, including Weight Watchers, Allergan (a pharma company who make the lap bands), and other pharma companies including inova and Novo Nordisk, who gave around $200 000 to Obesity Australia between 2011 and 2015. In 2011, Allergan kicked in quite a bit of money to get Obesity Australia started - around $150 000. Over 3 years they kicked in around $300 000. Allergan had actually gained a lot of cred for helping to fund these organisations, it helped them to be seen as a company doing ‘good’. But it wasn’t all good: Allergan, and the Centre for Obesity Research (CORE) in Melbourne received negative publicity in the media when their plans to target poor and Aboriginal teenagers for their weight loss experiments were disclosed to the media. Between 2011 and 2015, Obesity Australia received just over $1 million in funding. Of this, 80% was spent on “Board Expenses” and ‘consultancy’. Of that, 30% was “Board expenses”. Tax concessions also apply as this is a charity. It’s a LOT of money for all of that independence. And what exactly are these ‘Board expenses”? Many of the Board members of Obesity Australia have also received other money (for consultancy fees etc) from the pharma companies. Since 2015, Novo Nordisk has provided Obesity Australia with ‘unrestricted grants’ to produce reports about how dire the obesity epidemic is, and the URGENT need for interventions, including - no surprises here - pharmacological medicines. It is an urgent need for Novo, because in 2015 they finally got their weight loss drug Saxenda approved by the TGA. They’re not even bothering to hide it - on the Obesity Australia website you can click through to a presentation by Novo Nordisk to Obesity Australia in which they blatantly reveal that Novo are committed to ‘create legitimacy and urgency for the medical management of obesity’. Really, what Novo are after is to have obesity declared a disease: if this happens, they can push their drugs more heavily and even get weight loss drugs on the PBS, a massive potential windfall for them. The principles of Obesity Australia and the principles of Novo Nordisk are very much aligned with each other. Even the Charles Perkins Centre refer to obesity as a ‘disease’, when actually it’s not. In Australia, the Australian Medical Association do not classify higher body weight as a disease, nor do the World Health Organisation. They do talk about weight being a risk factor, but not a disease within itself. There are many people in larger bodies with no or very few health issues, if we classify this as a disease suddenly a whole pile of people become suddenly sick. How we think about our health status can really impact on our actual health status. And the influence of Novo Nordisk does not end with funding for Obesity Australia, and the unlimited funding for their ‘reports’. In the newly formed Obesity Collective, 8 of their academics on their boards receive direct financial benefits from Novo Nordisk, for consultancy, travel costs, etc, another couple of academics work at an institutions that receive funding from Novo Nordisk and a further 4 people on the Board are employed by PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC). Which is interesting, because Novo Nordisk is a well established and long existing client of the multinational auditors PriceWaterhouseCooper. One of the academics enjoying funding from Novo Nordisk is Professor Stephen Simpson himself - the head of The Obesity Collective, Obesity Australia, and The Charles Perkins Centre. He has just received a grant for his research Ancestral causes of obesity: Understanding epigenetic transmission by spermatozoa; with co-author Romain Barres, Professor, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Professor Barres enjoys unlimited research funding from Novo. This information is not being hidden, it is right there on the Charles Perkins Centre website on Professor Simpson’s information page. It’s hard to find academics involved in Obesity Australia who are not being paid by Novo Nordisk in some capacity. And this reaches beyond the Obesity Collective and Obesity Australia, because Novo Nordisk are busily paying our medical doctors and health professionals as well. According to a news article from Crikey, Novo have spent $3.2 million over 3 years on speaker fees and for experts to sit on its medical advisory boards. Novo’s declarations show 1300 separate payments to Australian GP’s, nurses and specialists over 3 years, with recurring payments to a handful of prominent specialists. Basically, Novo are hell bent on creating an air of scientific legitimacy to penetrate a potentially very lucrative market. The Obesity Australia website has a ‘response’ to ‘recent media attention’ which is really talking about the Crikey series of articles. They don’t actually refute anything that was said in the articles, they simply say that Novo is not their only funding source! They also said that Obesity Australia relies mainly on ‘unpaid volunteers’, which Mandy calls bullshit on! Unless these volunteers are working a million hours, this is simply not true! In their financial reports, there are less than a handful of individuals who are actually listed as volunteers. It said that they have strict guidelines about industry funding and that any engagement with ‘third parties’ are passed through their industry guidelines - “Obesity Australia is transparent around funding and projects that are funded by third parties are passed through our engagement with industry guidelines. These consider the nature of the project to be funded in relation to potential conflicts of interest (real or perceived), and the degree of alignment between the commercial interests of the funder and improving the lives of those living with obesity.” We do have to say that we don’t know the ins and outs of Obesity Australia’s funding from 2017 onwards as they have not posted any financial statements yet. From 2015 onwards Obesity Australia’s financial reports became a lot less detailed. In 2015, Obesity Australia changed and was taken into the Charles Perkins Centre: “Obesity Australia, founded in 2011 has now joined with the Charles Perkins Centre, which will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Obesity Australia. Obesity Australia remains in independent legal entity and will continue to be governed by the OA Board.” So we now have a lot less detailed financial information about the ins and outs of funding for Obesity Australia & The Obesity Collective, but we know that Novo Nordisk are still a major player in The Obesity Collective. Their logo is all over the Obesity Collective website. It is interesting because the Charles Perkins Centre really pride themselves on actually researching the impact of industry funding on how research and how knowledge is produced. None of the Charles Perkins research on the impact of industry funding has been directed towards Novo Nordisk. In September 2018 there was a flurry of media attention to the Charles Perkins research which showed that industry funding had a huge impact on research outcomes. Basically, corporate funding will skew the results towards industry not the people. Disclosure of payments by pharma and industry is important. Professor Simpson himself has had a lot to say about industry funding, coming out against Coke funding research at the Boden Centre for Obesity Research at the University of Sydney. Professor Simpson said that the Charles Perkins Centre had ‘strict guidelines’ regarding engagement with industry. And Louise had a look at these, and they basically say it’s really important for the centre to engage with industry. So there you go! So they are saying as long as we are transparent about our engagement with industry, it’s ok. Professor Simpson is actually also the Director of the engagement with industry committee! To their credit, The Charles Perkins Centre are transparent on their websites about Novo Nordisk funding their launch, about Professor Simpson’s research grant, and the unlimited research grants from Novo to write a series of reports about how awful the ‘obesity epidemic’ is, but there is a lot missing as well. Off the back of these reports came a shit tonne of publicity. Louise counted 11 different news articles in which the contents of these reports were discussed by either Professor Simpson or one of the Obesity Australia board members, and not once is the industry link mentioned in any of these press releases. This means that for the average person, there is no transparency. The average person would need to visit the website and trawl around to see who is funding the Obesity Collective in order to know. This is NOT transparent. There is a narrative being created which is being orchestrated by big pharma. Mandy has been asked to become involved in this world, but as a completely independent dietitian she declined. We will do a whole podcast on Saxenda, because we don’t have time now! Because the way the research is being conducted needs to be discussed. Also, Novo have more weight loss drugs in the pipeline, and Australians are being targeted for their market. With sparkly shopfronts like The Obesity Collective, positioned in prestigious universities, it’s really hard for the average person to figure out what science is really saying, and what marketing and funding is doing to how we think about all of this. Sydney uni and the Charles Perkins Centre even put on an entire event called “fighting truth decay” which was all about how industry funding can get in the way of seeing the truth! And who hosted it - you guessed it - Professor Locust! What a great technique to build trust, to be a university who talk about the corrupting influence of industry funding. But then to still do it??? Another of the Charles Perkins Centre events was about lived experience of ‘obesity’, but lo and behold they did not bother to record that! Speaking of lived experience, the Obesity Collective say they have this section called the “Weight Issues Network” which is apparently for people with lived experience ‘and their carers’ (condescending much??). But Mandy and Louise could find no evidence of this actually existing. Louise even emailed them asking to join, and so far - no response… In fact - CRICKETS!! How ironic that the lived experience of people in larger bodies is being erased by the Obesity Collective - who do not seem to have any larger people involved. There’s not even a picture of a larger person on their website, I mean COME ON. On the Obesity Australia website you can click through and see the members and they are all small. This is awful to see a committee writing about what they should do to solve the ‘problem’ of larger bodies…...with no one larger in sight. Maybe The Obesity Collective need to think about the reality of inviting people to be involved in a collective that wants to literally obliterate people who look like them. Representation is important, and this is not happening because this organisation cannot see past their own noses. Still stuck in 1935. We’ll end on a really scary quote from a Reuters story from 2017 about Novo where the CEO is talking about taking a ‘bet’ on obesity. “I see a huge opportunity in obesity and I don’t see a lot of competitors moving into the space,” he told Reuters during a visit to London.” “Saxenda only accounts for 2 percent of Novo’s overall sales but analysts expect it to sell more than $1 billion by 2023, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters. “ So - the big agenda is for companies like Novo Nordisk to provide funding to organisations like Obesity Australia and The Obesity Collective, to push to have Obesity declared as a disease, so they can increase the market for their weight loss drugs. If they can get their drugs on the PBS, there is huge profit involved. What has completely done our heads in throughout are the claims made by Obesity Collective - to be inclusive (no), to de-stigmatise (no), to be mindful of health inequalities (no), to be informed by evidence and prepared to innovate (oh my god), and to DISCLOSE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST! Which they do - but only if you look really, really hard. The Obesity Collective is a lovely smokescreen, and media reports are still not disclosing the funding. Everyone - please post pics of you eating those ‘lethal’ potato chips!   Resources Mentioned Find Mandy-Lee Noble on her website, on facebook, or email her at mandy@nourishedapproach.com.au The Obesity Collective website (also the Obesity Australia website) The 1935 factsheet about Curds ‘n Whey “Drinks That Make It Worse (!)” Serious prejudice against fish and chips The infamous potato chips as lethal ‘fact sheet’ Joseph Proietto’s fact sheet about the need for weight loss medication All about Professor Stephen Simpson, head of the Charles Perkins Centre, Executive Director of Obesity Australia, and head of The Obesity Collective. The Drum Episode The “Weighing In: Australia’s Growing Obesity Epidemic” report from The Obesity Collective Negative news stories about Allergan targeting poor and Aboriginal teens for their weight loss experiments More negative publicity about conflicts of interest in Australian obesity ‘experts’. The Novo Nordisk presentation where they blatantly reveal their aim to penetrate the Australian market (look under ‘resources from the 2015 summit’). Professor Simpson’s research grant buddy Romain Barr and his Novo affiliation. Professor Simpson’s Charles Perkins Centre Information page with his research grant from Novo. Just some of the payments made by Novo Nordisk to Australian health professionals. The Crikey articles discussing Novo’s plans to infiltrate Australia - there are a series of 4 articles, read them all: https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/01/obesity-politics-money-company-novo-nordisk/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/02/betting-obesity-benefits-disease-classification/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/03/commercial-bet-obesity-designed-create-the-market/ https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/07/04/betting-on-obesity-winning-hearts-minds-pockets-doctors/ Obesity Australia’s response to the Crikey articles Sydney University research on the impact of industry funding on outcomes: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/02/21/industry-funding-biases-drug-study-findings-.html https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/16/pharmaceutical-companies-spent-34m-on-patient-advocacy-groups-research-finds https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/anything-to-declare-corporate-influence-in-medical Professor Simpson being all fired up about industry funding with Coke The Charles Perkins centre transparency guidelines for working with industry 11 news articles featuring The Obesity Collective or its members in which Novo Nordisk funding was not mentioned: https://www.smh.com.au/national/that-was-the-most-heartbreaking-part-australia-s-obesity-epidemic-out-of-control-20190326-p517l5.html https://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/australian-economy/research-shows-australians-must-lose-weight-to-save-money-and-help-improve-the-economy/news-story/d4618d77c9d04d14d6f5d3eed04c6185 https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/09/22/how-to-talk-to-a-loved-one-about-their-weight_a_21472370/ https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/‘we-can-really-call-this-an-epidemic’-obesity-rate https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/while-politicians-refuse-to-act-australians-become-more-overweight-20181113-p50fu9.html https://www.afr.com/leadership/fatness-debunked-as-obesity-expert-says-its-not-your-fault-20181113-h17trg https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/personal-responsibility-not-way-to-fix-obesity-crisis-20180801-p4zuwu.html https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/lets-get-creative-in-the-fight-against-obesity-20151201-glcy0v.html https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/02/25/obesity-cost-in-australia_n_9199240.html https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/obesity-australia-summit-2018-a-new-approach-to-a https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/the-obesity-collective/10056982 The Charles Perkins’ Centre event Fighting Truth Decay Scary story from Reuters about Novo and how it’s taking a ‘bet’ on obesity.

The ketogenic diet has been prescribed medically as a regimen for children with refractory seizures. It has since gained popularity recently as a weight loss strategy. This diet is important to understand because of its effect on overall body physiology in order to best counsel patients, especially as patients may be bringing it up more frequently as a current "fad diet"! Resources: Nordmann AJ, Nordmann A, Briel M, et al. Effects of low-carbohydrate vs low-fat diets on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166:285. Hall KD, Chen KY, Guo J, et al. Energy expenditure and body composition changes after an isocaloric ketogenic diet in overweight and obese men. Am J Clin Nutr 2016; 104:324. Fung TT, van Dam RM, Hankinson SE, et al. Low-carbohydrate diets and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: two cohort studies. Ann Intern Med 2010; 153:289. Martin‐McGill KJ, Jackson CF, Bresnahan R, Levy RG, Cooper PN. Ketogenic diets for drug‐resistant epilepsy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018, Issue 11. Art. No.: CD001903. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001903.pub4. McKenzie A, Hallberg S, Creighton BC, Volk BM, Link T, Abner M, et al. A Novel Intervention Including Individualized Nutritional Recommendations Reduces Hemoglobin A1c Level, Medication Use, and Weight in Type 2 Diabetes. JMIR Diabetes. 2017;2(1):e5 Hallberg SJ, McKenzie AL, Williams P, et al. Effectiveness and Safety of a Novel Care Model for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes at One Year: An Open Label, Non-Randomized, Controlled Study. Diabetes Ther. 2018. DOI: 10.1007/s13300-018-0373-9 Sumithran, Priya, and Joseph Proietto. "Ketogenic diets for weight loss: a review of their principles, safety and efficacy." Obesity Research & Clinical Practice 2.1 (2008): 1-13.

Shawn M. Arent, PhD, CSCS*D, FACSM is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies at Rutgers University. He is also the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory and Director of the Center for Health & Human Performance in the Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health. Dr. Arent is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and also a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and both his MS and PhD in Exercise Science at Arizona State University. His research focuses on the relationship between physical activity and stress and the implications for health and performance, with an emphasis on underlying biological and behavioral mechanisms. His recent work has primarily focused on physiological responses to training-related stressors and their contribution to optimal performance and recovery. He is specifically interested in the potential efficacy of acute and chronic resistance training and nutritional supplementation for improving functional capabilities and mental health. Dr. Arent is on the national staff for the US Soccer Federation and works closely with a number of teams at Rutgers University.  He also provides performance enhancement advice for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes in a number of sports, including soccer, football, wrestling, baseball, softball, gymnastics, rowing, equestrian events, and cycling. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Life Fitness Academy, the Center for Obesity Research and Intervention, and various biotechnology companies.  His work has also received considerable attention by the popular media, including Shape Magazine, Men's Health, Prevention, and Self.  He is on the editorial board for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Comparative Exercise Physiology, and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. In this podcast, Shawn and I nutrient timing. Some of the topics we discuss are: (03:00): Is there a population where nutrient timing post-exercise becomes very important? (06:00): In recent years there has been some studies concluding that nutrient timing is not of great importance as long as total protein for the day is covered, or protein is consumed prior to exercise. What are your thoughts regarding these studies? (39:30): You and your group recently published a review on this topic. What was the conclusion in that review? (42:00): Is there other times except for peri-workout where it can be beneficial to focus on consuming sufficient amounts of protein? (45:40):What is the take home message?

In this episode, Laura Thomas, PhD explores the concepts of weight stigma and weight bias in detail, and discuss how sometimes it's about the food but it's not about the food. Laura shares about the importance of not being complacent about how we communicate the science of weight and nutrition. We talk about the frequently-cited statistic that 95% of diets fail, and explore the nuance of the evidence. She gives an inside look into the research world including research bias and observation bias and gives some tips for critically consuming the science and the media around nutrition, weight and health.   Laura also shares about her new book coming out in January (in the UK only) called Just Eat It so be sure to follow her on social media to hear about the release of the book near you!   Links mentioned: Laura's website: http://www.laurathomasphd.co.uk/ Laura's podcast: Don't Salt My Game British Medical Journal: Challenging Assumptions in Obesity Research (with the podcast Laura mentioned as well) World Health Organization report about weight bias Episode 113: Exploring Weight Stigma Leave a review for the podcast here. Positive Nutrition Online Course coming soon! Join the Nutrition Matters Podcast Community on FB. Donate to the podcast here.

Shawn M. Arent, PhD, CSCS*D, FACSM is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies at Rutgers University. He is also the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory and Director of the Center for Health & Human Performance in the Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health. Dr. Arent is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and also a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine. He was named NCSA's 2017 Outstanding Sport Scientist of the Year. His research focuses on the relationship between physical activity and stress and the implications for health and performance, with an emphasis on underlying biological and behavioral mechanisms. His recent work has primarily focused on physiological responses to training-related stressors and their contribution to optimal performance and recovery. He is specifically interested in the potential efficacy of acute and chronic resistance training and nutritional supplementation for improving functional capabilities and mental health. Dr. Arent is on the national staff for the US Soccer Federation and works closely with a number of teams at Rutgers University.  He also provides performance enhancement advice for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes in a number of sports, including soccer, football, wrestling, baseball, softball, gymnastics, rowing, equestrian events, and cycling. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Life Fitness Academy, the Center for Obesity Research and Intervention, and various biotechnology companies.  His work has also received considerable attention by the popular media, including Shape Magazine, Men's Health, Prevention, and Self.  He is on the editorial board for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Comparative Exercise Physiology, and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. shawn.arent@rutgers.edu

In this episode I have a conversation with Dr Arya Sharma. Dr Sharma is Professor and Chair in Obesity Research and Management at the University of Alberta, Canada as well as Medical Director of the Alberta Health Services Provincial Obesity Strategy. He also led the charge in creating the Canadian Obesity Network, which since its […]

The Canadian Obesity Network says it is time to recognize obesity as a disease in order to improve supports. Dr. Arya Sharma with the Canadian Obesity Network, Chair in Obesity Research and Management joins Rob to chat about how obesity behaves like a chronic disease. 

Shawn M. Arent, PhD, CSCS*D, FACSM is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Exercise Science and Sport Studies at Rutgers University. He is also the Director of the Human Performance Laboratory and Director of the Center for Health & Human Performance in the Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health. Dr. Arent is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and also a Fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia and both his MS and PhD in Exercise Science at Arizona State University. His research focuses on the relationship between physical activity and stress and the implications for health and performance, with an emphasis on underlying biological and behavioral mechanisms. His recent work has primarily focused on physiological responses to training-related stressors and their contribution to optimal performance and recovery. He is specifically interested in the potential efficacy of acute and chronic resistance training and nutritional supplementation for improving functional capabilities and mental health. Dr. Arent is on the national staff for the US Soccer Federation and works closely with a number of teams at Rutgers University.  He also provides performance enhancement advice for youth, high school, collegiate, and professional athletes in a number of sports, including soccer, football, wrestling, baseball, softball, gymnastics, rowing, equestrian events, and cycling. He has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Life Fitness Academy, the Center for Obesity Research and Intervention, and various biotechnology companies.  His work has also received considerable attention by the popular media, including Shape Magazine, Men's Health, Prevention, and Self.  He is on the editorial board for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Comparative Exercise Physiology, and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. In this podcast, Shawn and I discussed Physique vs Sports Nutrition. Some of the topics we discuss are: 1.How you look and how you perform can be two separate things. Working with athletes, do you feel that the focus to look fit can be detrimental for performance in some athletes? 2.When it comes to body composition measurements, people often get obsessed with the numbers, striving to hit a certain body fat percentage. Do the exact numbers really matter that much or is it more of an assessment tool to track body composition? What are the limitations? 3.Do you feel that a lot of the sports nutrition recommendations gets misinterpret when it comes to physique nutrition? For example, carbohydrates and glycogen restoration? 4.Athletes are always looking for what can maximize their performance, while there is a trend in todays fitness industry of: “what’s the least you can do to get results”. What are your thoughts about this trend?

On this week's show: The Inuit diet & Omega 3s; why high-fat diets may lead to overeating; study says it was easier to be skinny in the 80's; and 4 rituals that will make you happier. Also, recommendations for an epic article to read, products to buy, a documentary to watch, and a book to read or listen to. There are Shinrin-Yoku, Moment of Paleo and After the Bell segments, too. Enjoy! Links for this episode:Latest in Paleo on Facebook - Share Interesting News & Say Hi!This episode's homepage with sectioned show notesProducts Recommended by AngeloListen to "Ishmael" on Audible - 30 Days Free, Includes BookIn Defense of Low Fat: A Call for Some Evolution of Thought (Part 1) | Raw Food SOSAngelo's Interview on The PipelineThe World's Best Diet HD - YouTubeGreenlandic Inuit show genetic signatures of diet and climate adaptationThe Secret To The Inuit High-Fat Diet May Be Good Genes : The Salt : NPRHow People Living at Earth's Extremes Reveal the Genome's Best Tricks - The Atlantic'Paleo' diet works if you have Inuit genes - FuturityWhat the Inuit can tell us about omega-3 fats and ‘paleo’ diets | Berkeley NewsStudy: Inuit Omega-3 Genetic Adaptation Could Change Health Story - ICTMN.comOn Thin Ice: Inuit way of life vanishing in Arctic - NBC News.comImpaired mTORC2 signaling in catecholaminergic neurons exaggerates high fat diet-induced hyperphagiaA high fat diet leads to overeating because of faulty brain signaling | EurekAlert! Science NewsA High-Fat Diet May Cause Brain Damage, Explaining Why Obese People Overeat And Crave Fatty FoodsA High-Fat Diet May Cause You to Overeat with Faulty Brain Signaling : Health & Medicine : Science World ReportHigh Fat Diet Leads To Overeating : News : University HeraldYour Brain on Fatty FoodSecular differences in the association between caloric intake, macronutrient intake, and physical activity with obesity - Obesity Research & Clinical PracticeWhy It Was Easier to Be Skinny in the 1980s - The AtlanticIt was easier to stay skinny in the 80s, study finds - ScienceAlertIt Was Easier to Get and Stay Skinny in the '80s, Scientists Say - Us WeeklyThe Australian news4 Rituals That Will Make You Happy, According to Neuroscience | TIMENew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activationStudy: spending time in nature lifts mood, may prevent depression (VIDEO).Sandrine Thuret: You can grow new brain cells. Here's how | TED Talk | TED.comSponsored in part by PuraKai. Visit purakai.com to shop for eco-friendly clothing and stand-up paddle boards. Be sure to use coupon code "latest in paleo" for 15% off all clothing purchases.

Coca-Cola is receiving criticism for funding research that backed exercise over cutting calories. As a result experts are calling for more transparency in sponsored studies. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Keto Paleo blogger and NTP student Holly Higgins and low-carb Certified Holistic Nutrition Educator Misty Humphrey join our hosts Jimmy Moore and Dietitian Cassie today in Episode 160 of "Low-Carb Conversations With Jimmy Moore, Dietitian Cassie & Friends!"   As summer begins to wind down and the kids are getting ready to go back to school again, we're here providing weekly education through a closer examination of the latest and greatest headlines making news in the world of health. We love sharing our thoughts and ideas on what's happening in the mainstream media that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly sometimes. Regardless, you know we will always have views for you to ponder from our hosts and our guest friends to help you respond to those who challenge you on what you believe about them. If this podcast has benefitted you in your knowledge and understanding of nutrition and health, then  to make a donation of any amount to give financially towards this listener-supported podcast. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! WHAT HAPPENS IN THE HOUR AFTER YOU DRINK A COKE? In today's episode, our co-hosts Jimmy Moore and  welcome in an inspiring blogger who gave up heavy doses of antidepressants through a ketogenic Paleo nutritional approach named  and an amazing low-carb weight loss success story who became a Certified Holistic Nutrition Educator named . Listen to Jimmy and Cassie banter a bit at the beginning about what's happening in their worlds right now. STOP EATING BREAD AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU Listen in as Jimmy, Cassie, Holly, and Misty give their thoughts and ideas on what just one can of Coke can do to your body in an hour, a new small randomized controlled crossover study comparing a high-fat cheese, high-fat meat, and a low-fat, high-carb diet on cardiovascular risk in overweight postmenopausal women, research that shows having Type 2 diabetes damages cognitive health, an odd study that shows saturated fat found in high-carb junk foods works like a drug on the brain, a mixed bag column about what happens to your body when you stop eating bread, and the ramifications of an overabundance of sugar production. Plus, don't miss the nutrition tips at the end. Now pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and let's talk! “LOW-CARB CONVERSATIONS” PODCAST IS LISTENER-SUPPORTED!: to support this podcast! LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 159- We’re LISTENER-SUPPORTED: - - - SECRET HEADLINE: - - - - - - 

Assim A. Alfadda speaks on "Applications of clinical proteomics towards the studying of obesity - The obesity research center incentive". This seminar has been recorded by ICGEB Trieste

Dr. Chin Jou is a lecturer in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. Stephen Morrissey, the interviewer, is the Managing Editor of the Journal. C. Jou. History of Medicine: The Biology and Genetics of Obesity - A Century of Inquiries. N Engl J Med 2014;370:1874-7.

Interview with Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, author of The Next Generation of Obesity Research: No Time to Waste

Tackling obesity in child and adult populations - Prof. Philip Morgan.

In this episode Travis speaks with Brazilian obesity researcher Nelson Nardo Jr.  To leave a comment on this post, please visit our website at www.blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea.

Gary Foster PhD is a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University. He speaks to the challenges of obesity, of how it is a mixture of lifestyle and biological problems, what can be done to control it, and how to approach and intervene with this considerable social-medical problem.