The Washing of the Brains

March 14, 2024
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No surprise there, but both children and adults are vulnerable to having their lives negatively impacted by junk food advertising.

Study Confirms Genetic Link in BMI As Global Obesity Reaches Alarming Levels

March 13, 2024
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A new study from Norway confirms that a combination of genetics and environment causes a parent’s weight to affect the weight of their kids.

Sometimes You Don’t Know What to Think

March 12, 2024
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What are the effective methods in weight management and reducing childhood obesity? Opinions vary. This is what research shows.

Tempest in a Very Large Teapot

March 7, 2024
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Learn more about the voluntary demotion of superstar Oprah Winfrey from her almost decade-long seat as a Weight Watchers board member.

BPA Study Finds Different Gut Microbiota’s Response Based on BMI

March 6, 2024
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A Spanish study finds that children with normal weight hosted more diverse bacteria and showed greater resilience to BPA than the overweight ones.

Landmark — Junk Food Legally Defined

March 5, 2024
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There’s a proven correlation between increasing child obesity and the ever-mounting abundance of ultra-processed foods in stores and family kitchens.

Relating to the Classics

February 29, 2024
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One might think the synergy between sporting events and recreational eating could not go back much further, but one would be mistaken.

Like a Horse and Carriage

February 27, 2024
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It is in the best interest of Big Junk Food to normalize the consumption of crap on every possible occasion, and the industry’s publicity machine is excellent.

How Big Is 10 Billion?

February 22, 2024
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The United States food industry spends $10 billion on marketing. Here’s what 10 billion looks like when we put it in perspective and compare it to other causes.

GLP-1 Weight Loss Medications in the News

February 21, 2024
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Here’s a look at the latest headlines in the world of GLP-1 weight loss medications and their use in opioid abuse treatment.

Bending Kids’ Minds

February 20, 2024
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With contests and material rewards, companies actively train (or perhaps “groom” is the word) children to be avid consumers.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 10

February 8, 2024
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The food and beverage industry’s efforts to recruit as many bent academics as possible to volubly cheer for Team Sugar is part of a larger strategy.

Two Recent Childhood Obesity Studies in the Spotlight

February 7, 2024
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Two recent studies reveal the worsening of severe childhood obesity and cast doubt on the AAP guidelines.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 9

February 6, 2024
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Marketing should be a grown-up conversation, with the kids left out of it. Advertising to children is gradual brainwashing to get what the adult wants.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 8

February 2, 2024
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Because children do not yet have the necessary cognitive skills in place they are unable to tell the difference between entertainment and advertising.

GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs in the News, Again

February 1, 2024
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Let’s take a look at the latest headlines to glimpse at what’s happening in the world of weight loss meds.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 7

January 30, 2024
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How about just not advertising to minors, period? After all, it’s not as if every child in America has a paycheck burning a hole in her or his pocket.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 6

January 25, 2024
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While some companies became more conscious and more conscientious, we’ve seen plenty of examples that have no connection with morality, profitable or otherwise.

GLP-1: More Competition, Soaring Prices, and What Medicare Won’t Cover

January 24, 2024
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The weight loss drug market is heating up to keep up with the demand despite soaring prices.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 5

January 23, 2024
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This is an overview of the food industry’s ambitious project of brainwashing children to nag their parents to buy them the worst possible excuses for food.

Anti-Obesity Medications and Functional Impairment, Continued

January 18, 2024
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This is the continuation of an exploration of the possible negative effects of the new wave of weight-loss drugs, which began with a recent post.

A New Anti-Obesity Medications Study Reveals Interesting Insights

January 17, 2024
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New research found that the majority of people who are prescribed anti-obesity medication discontinue the drugs after a year.

Anti-Obesity Medications and Functional Impairment

January 16, 2024
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The new anti-obesity meds were touted as miraculous for a while. Then slowly, the miraculous illusion began to fade. Here’s why the honeymoon might be over.

Start Making Sense

January 11, 2024
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We have trouble wrapping our heads around the paradox of obesity and food insecurity. How can they both exist together? Yet here we are.

Childhood Obesity Specialists Struggle to Get GLP-1 Agonists

January 10, 2024
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Here are the challenges faced by pediatric obesity specialists in accessing weight-loss meds approved by the FDA for weight loss in kids 12 years or older.

Surprising News About Activity

January 9, 2024
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Recent reports show that at least three hours per day of light physical activity, which includes walking, doing chores, biking, etc., can reduce obesity.

Tackling the Same Childhood Obesity Issues in the New Year

January 3, 2024
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Two recent studies found an increase in childhood obesity. Here’s what we can do to curb it, starting with the parents.

Holidays and Their Aftermath

January 2, 2024
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We got stressed out, we ate too much, we drank too much, and now we don’t feel very good about ourselves. Here’s what we can do to minimize stress.

Spare Yourself a Ton of Grief

December 29, 2023
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A very useful resolution not only for the new year but for this holiday season we are in right now is to clear our subconscious minds of expectations.

The Holidays, You, Me, and Others

December 27, 2023
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What can one do for oneself and others? For starters, empathy is all-important.

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Profiles: Kids Struggling with Weight

Profiles: Kids Struggling with Obesity top bottom

The Book

OVERWEIGHT: What Kids Say explores the obesity problem from the often-overlooked perspective of children struggling with being overweight.

About Dr. Robert A. Pretlow

Dr. Robert A. Pretlow is a pediatrician and childhood obesity specialist. He has been researching and spreading awareness on the childhood obesity epidemic in the US for more than a decade.
You can contact Dr. Pretlow at:

Presentations

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the American Society of Animal Science 2020 Conference
What’s Causing Obesity in Companion Animals and What Can We Do About It

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the World Obesity Federation 2019 Conference:
Food/Eating Addiction and the Displacement Mechanism

Dr. Pretlow’s Multi-Center Clinical Trial Kick-off Speech 2018:
Obesity: Tackling the Root Cause

Dr. Pretlow’s 2017 Workshop on
Treatment of Obesity Using the Addiction Model

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation for
TEC and UNC 2016

Dr. Pretlow’s invited presentation at the 2015 Obesity Summit in London, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s invited keynote at the 2014 European Childhood Obesity Group Congress in Salzburg, Austria.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2013 European Congress on Obesity in Liverpool, UK.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2011 International Conference on Childhood Obesity in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dr. Pretlow’s presentation at the 2010 Uniting Against Childhood Obesity Conference in Houston, TX.

Food & Health Resources