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Archive for December, 2012

Keep Kids off The Biggest Loser

Posted in Public health, Weight loss, Weight stigma on December 31, 2012 | 5 Comments »

The Biggest LoserDances With Fat blogger and activist Ragen Chastain has created a petition to keep kids off The Biggest Loser. I’ve signed and would like to encourage folks to consider signing and sharing.

This show has been a guilty pleasure of mine for many years. But knowing what goes on behind the scenes to create the “successes” of the contestants (and how these successes typically do not last), I have to weigh in (pun intended!) when it comes to a kids version.

I have no illusions that this petition will have any result (indeed, a commenter on Yoni Freedhoff’s Facebook page is concerned it will drive ratings higher). But I’m also convinced that remaining silent means that 1) producers will think this is fine and take it further next time and 2) there can be no meaningful discussion about weight, kids, stigma etc.

Ragen is going to be speaking later this week with the doctor who monitored the kids. I think it’d be great if this petition could get more traction before that conversation!

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Emily Deans’ Three Evolutionary Solutions for 2013

Posted in Ancestral health, Exercise, Micronutrients, Sleep on December 27, 2012 | 1 Comment »

This post may be a bit contradictory given yesterday’s QOTD (the one suggesting you have enough information ;). But I think that for those who may be stuck a bit in analysis paralysis, having some simple suggestions can be helpful. For one, they can be useful to bring the focus back to a 30,000 foot view rather than getting stuck too much in the weeds.

Anyways, in that spirit, here are Emily Deans’ three suggestions for addressing the mismatch between our evolutionary past and our modern environment:

  1. Enrich your micro nutrition. Eat nutrient-dense food. In my mind, that means whole, “real” foods. If your food has a label, you should probably eat less of it.
  2. Get plenty of good sleep if you can.
  3. Exercise as tolerated. Longer, easier stints such as gardening, walking and hiking will give a lot of benefit with less risk of injury.

Check out Dr. Deans’ post for more details … as long as it won’t stress you out ;).

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Quote of the day

Posted in Ancestral health, QOTD on December 26, 2012 | 6 Comments »

Frank Forencich on why it might be wise to stop listening to health experts:

If health experts were the solution, we’d all be fit and happy. But we’re not.

In fact, we might even go so far to say that the proliferation of health information, advice and expertise is actually having a negative, disempowering effect on the very people it is supposed to be helping. Intimidated by the apparent complexity of health, fitness, nutrition and training, we balk. Afraid to take matters into our own hands, we give our innate intelligence over to others. Afraid to move our bodies, we hire personal trainers to hold the clipboard and count our reps. Afraid to make our own food choices, we hire nutritionists to tell us what to eat. At every decision point in the modern world, we come to a grinding halt, unwilling to take a chance with our own judgment. Awash in information, study becomes a substitute for authentic action.

Frank’s suggestion?

Take whatever health knowledge you’ve got and put it into practice. … You’ve got enough information. Now is the time for action.

Something to consider as resolution season rolls around!

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Friday cat blogging

Posted in Friday cat blogging on December 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »

xmas

So, so true. My tree is amazingly still intact ;).

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Quote of the day

Posted in Low carb, QOTD on December 19, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Robb Wolf weighs in on Low Carb And Paleo (emphasis his):

it is time to face facts. In every damn study it is clear that for fat loss we’d like adequate protein, and a calorie restriction scenario. LC is fantastic for this in that one typically feels satisfied on high protein, moderate fat, loads of veggies. If one is insulin resistant, this approach can be nothing short of miraculous. HOWEVER! If one manages to cram enough cheese, olive oil and grass-fed butter down the pie-hole, this is in fact, a “mass gain” diet.

LC is fantastic for the insulin resistant individual, as it addresses both glycemic load and satiety. But if one manages to bypass normal satiety mechanisms, or if one can find some combinations of highly palatable, but low-carb foods, it’s still a ticket to Fat Camp.

As the carb wars don’t appear to be ending anytime soon, I’m glad to see Regina Wilshire (who I read religiously years ago) is back to blogging over at Weight of the Evidence … she’s a must-read IMO! With her history as a low-carb dieter and a really strong grasp of the science, I think she provides another useful voice to help tease out the hows, whens, and whys of carb restriction. Do check her out!

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Quote of the day

Posted in Obesity, Policy, Public health on December 12, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Travis Saunders points to an interesting paper that provides “an argument for reframing obesity as caloric overconsumption.” From the provisional PDF:

In order to make sense of the obesity policy cacophony, this paper argues that the problem of obesity should be reframed as caloric overconsumption. There are two broad rationales for this reframing. The first rationale deals with the problems accompanying the current frame obesity. In addition to having become politicized, obesity is an outcome and not a cause. As a frame, “obesity” does not identify any specific causes – and obesity certainly is not the cause of itself! Thus the frame obesity remains open to be interpreted and influenced by competing theories about what does cause obesity. This makes it difficult to identify or assess potential policies or interventions. The second rationale stems from the potential benefits of using the proposed frame, caloric overconsumption. The frame caloric overconsumption minimizes some of the framing competition by identifying a specific cause of obesity, energy input. Moreover, the frame caloric overconsumption will permit a more critical analysis of the various policies and interventions that can be used in obesity prevention.

As Travis says, it’s worth checking the paper. As I’ve discussed before, obesity is a wicked problem, and caloric overconsumption is just one factor (as the paper’s authors acknowledge). And also as Travis says, it’s not clear that any resulting policy implications would be any more likely. But I applaud the effort to move the conversation in the direction of actual cause rather than effect.

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Quote of the day

Posted in QOTD on December 11, 2012 | 2 Comments »

A little off-topic, but I saw this on my Facebook feed and wanted to save it for myself.

Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve…You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

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