Prebiotics — Too Good to Be True?

February 7, 2017
Leave a Comment

Prof. of Microbiology Liping Zhao investigates the interactions between host genetics, diet and the microbiome, using himself as a subject.

The Microbiota Don’t Like Antibiotics — Of Course!

February 6, 2017
Leave a Comment

Trillions of microbiota live mostly in the colon and display intriguing connections with obesity or the lack of it.

Psychiatric Disorders, Weight Loss, and Weight Loss Surgery

February 3, 2017
Leave a Comment

After the weight loss surgery, even when the patient seems to be doing fine, the psychological benefits may alternately spike, drop or disappear.

Weight Loss and Psychiatric Disorders

February 2, 2017
Leave a Comment

Research shows that despite their long-term success with weight loss, the patients’ mental health on average deteriorated past even their pre-surgery level.

Expertise for Sale

January 26, 2017
Leave a Comment

Did you know some registered dietitians are financially rewarded by Coke and the American Beverage Association to hype products and ideas via social media?

More on Childhood Obesity and the Reproductive System

January 24, 2017
Leave a Comment

Of all the childhood obesity epidemic’s aspects, one of the most alarming is the ever-decreasing age of puberty. Worse, each condition exacerbates the other.

The Amazing Placebo Effect

January 17, 2017
Leave a Comment

Research shows that in the pursuit of weight loss, human support system and attention from a caring professional might be more effective than calorie counting.

“Dieting” for Weight Loss

January 13, 2017
Leave a Comment

Some studies suggest that the reducing diet accomplishes neither weight loss nor anything but frustration and feelings of failure.

The Discouraging Root of Much Despair

January 11, 2017
Leave a Comment

Predictors of long-term weight-loss maintenance have not been clearly identified because, in large part, there is scarcity of long-term data to test hypotheses.

More Fat Pharmacy

January 10, 2017
Leave a Comment

Childhood Obesity News has been tracing the recent history of weight-loss drugs, of which Vyvanse is an example.

The Fat Pharmacy

January 9, 2017
Leave a Comment

Not everybody can afford the delivery of pre-measured meals or the services of a personal trainer, but almost everybody can afford pills.

The Pharmacological Rationale

January 6, 2017
Leave a Comment

Claims made about anti-obesity drugs need to be carefully examined as they haven’t been tested for very long on people who need them most.

Obesity From Different Perspectives

January 5, 2017
Leave a Comment

Considering the proportions and implications of the obesity crisis humanity can’t afford to dismiss any ideas. We’re grasping at straws.

Obesity Through the Pharmacological Lens

January 4, 2017
Leave a Comment

Patients and doctors can become discouraged by the elephant they can’t seem to evict from the room: The fact that weight loss rarely lasts.

Where Obesity Starts

December 29, 2016
1 Comment

Today we take a closeup look at where eating starts, and where, by logical extension, most obesity starts — the human mouth.

Why Is Humor Slimming?

December 22, 2016
Leave a Comment

Humor has been shown to have numerous positive physiologic effects, one of the strongest of which is in helping people cope with stress.

Bring the Funny — and Measure It

December 21, 2016
Leave a Comment

Though a person’s choice of diet and activity level are important research shows that humor therapy can beneficially impact eating behavior.

The Bugs That Slip Us a Mickey

December 16, 2016
Leave a Comment

It now seems entirely possible that the consumption of four particular kinds of microbes can allay human anxiety, without side effects.

Microbes, Mood and Obesity

December 15, 2016
Leave a Comment

Anxiety and depression are two of the main triggers of disordered eating behavior. Do the gut bugs have anything to do with enabling it?

Food vs. LOLz

December 14, 2016
Leave a Comment

Maybe answers to both diabetes and misery-based obesity can be discovered by listening to and befriending the microbiota.

Obesity and Unorthodox Therapeutic Modalities

December 13, 2016
Leave a Comment

Interpersonal and cognitive behavioral therapies have been determined to be some of the most promising treatments for eating disorders.

A Detective on the Eating Case

December 12, 2016
Leave a Comment

Research shows that maybe, just maybe, thinking about the most recent meal can help a person refrain from eating too soon, or too much.

Mood, Food, and Funny

December 8, 2016
Leave a Comment

The idea that food and laughter are equally capable of providing nourishment and curative power is an old one, but recent studies suggest just that.

Brush Up on Nephrology

December 7, 2016
Leave a Comment

Contrary to the comforting notion that co-morbidities are far away down the road, renal problems don’t necessarily build up slowly or wait for years to strike.

Adolescence and Co-morbidities

December 6, 2016
Leave a Comment

A lot of teenagers are afflicted by obesity and something else. When two things go wrong, they are now co-morbidities.

Obesity, Hypertension, and the Forming Brain

December 1, 2016
Leave a Comment

Studies show that overweight or obese children are at a much greater risk of developing high blood pressure. Between 1997 and 2006, hospitalizations for hypertension-related pediatric illnesses almost doubled.

A Few Things About Youth and Co-Morbidities

November 21, 2016
Leave a Comment

Growing up obese can have all kinds of consequences in life, including less of that life as measured in years. And consequences don’t always wait for “later.”

Youth, Obesity, and the Senses

November 18, 2016
Leave a Comment

Studies show that childhood obesity could lead to hearing loss, the loss of sense of smell and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Globesity, Co-Morbidities, and the Young

November 17, 2016
Leave a Comment

Overweight and obese kids tend to become overweight and obese adults, with the associated risk of a shortened life expectancy.

Instant Karma — Obesity and the Brain

November 16, 2016
Leave a Comment

Recent studies revealed that obesity may relate to a child’s decreased ability to think quickly and thus could be negatively related to academic achievement.

FAQs and Media Requests: Click here…

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