CW: There is a lot of talk about body weight, weight loss, weight stigma, and methods for weight loss in this blog post, as I’m summarizing some of this week’s published scientific articles in these areas.
I love newsletters. Granted, I don’t get around to reading them all, but it’s a comfort to know that they are always on duty at my inbox, chock-full of facts or observations for my consumption, entertainment, and edification. I also love that they are easy to subscribe and unsubscribe to–once I lose interest, all I do is click, and woosh- gone! No recycling necessary.
One of the stalwarts in my personal corps of helpful and information email is this one, devoted to human metabolism research– it covers body weight, physical activity and nutrition results from studies.
Some highlights, and a little context for each of them:
One: Published survey showing less than 4 in 10 Americans strongly trust science about food, nutrition and/or diet.
some context: the organization publishing the study– the International Food Information Council– is funded by folks that include Big Food (General Mills, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, and the like). This gives me pause, because greenwashing of nutritional research via corporate funding is a big thing.
Two: the “Headline vs. Study” feature is always one of my favorites. It shows how real science gets distorted, even mangled in between journal article and media story. This week, the headline is “Overweight? Good Sleep Is Even More Crucial to Your Health.“.
But is that what the researchers found (or even looked for)? Nope. The actual study, done on a group of men and women with BMI >=25, found sex-specific differences in the relationships between sleep phases and metabolic markers (like body fat, cholesterol, blood glucose, etc.). They didn’t compare the study group to people with BMI <25. So don’t believe all the headlines you read…
some context: there is a lot of research on the relationships between sleep and health biomarkers. And, this study shows an interesting-to-researchers difference between the men and women participants. But, there’s no important clinical revelation above and beyond that everyone should get good sleep. Duh.
Three: Eating beans, but not peas, contributes to lowered LDL cholesterol levels, relative to eating white rice (in humans, in case you were wondering). Researchers think it’s the extra fiber in the beans which helps. Well okay then.
some context: uh, it’s about eating. You know, food. That’s all I got.
Four: Weight stigma is alive and well in pediatrics. This commentary makes suggestions for addressing weight discrimination in children’s healthcare, sharing resources from advocacy and research organizations.
some context: body weight stigma aimed at children is still common in all spheres of life, and health care practitioners are guilty of some of biases that lead to harms. Many articles point to this problem and suggestions for mitigating it are made, although most in the context of weightloss-aimed treatments. Size acceptance appears not to be a popular approach, at least according to the literature I read weekly.
Five: The co-called “Ozempic face” phenomenon appears to be the result of rapid weight loss, not the result of anything specific to the GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs used to bring about that weight loss. This review article notes that the intensity of the effect correlates with the amount of weight lost, which stands to reason. The article lays out different treatments for “Ozempic face”, the cheapest and least invasive of which is to stop taking the medication, thereby regaining weight.
some context: honestly, I think this very sensible article speaks for itself. But just in case anyone is unsure: the GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs facilitate rapid weight loss, including around the face and neck. There’s not evidence that they result in more facial weight loss than would happen through different methods. People who don’t like the results can discontinue the medication, get cosmetic procedures (including surgery) or work on accepting what their faces look like now.