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.

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.

The Role of Exercise in Sustaining Weight Loss Beyond Medication

February 28, 2024
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A recent Danish study underscores the symbiotic relationship between medication and exercise in combating obesity.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 12

February 15, 2024
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We have seen that researchers easily obtain from children confessions about how they harass their parents to get their substances of choice.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 11

February 13, 2024
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Manufacturers had built “arsenals of data profiling services” using artificial intelligence and machine learning to advertise junk food to kids.

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.

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.

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.

Continuing Lifestyle Intervention, Part 7

December 7, 2023
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There’s mounting evidence that with or without surgery or GLP-1 drugs, continuing lifestyle modification is the only road to ultimate victory.

Continuing Lifestyle Intervention, Part 6

December 6, 2023
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The question is whether the seemingly miraculous new weight-loss drugs are enough, in and of themselves, to permanently and meaningfully change people’s lives.

New Drugs — Does Lifestyle Intervention Still Count? Part 5

October 26, 2023
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To put it bluntly, weight loss drugs don’t work unless the patient is also involved in some aspect of what the drug makers define as intervention.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 2

September 25, 2023
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Our goal should be to help children develop a healthy relationship to food. Foisting character-branded products on them undermines that effort.

Selling Crap to Kids, Part 1

September 22, 2023
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One study showed that children who are already obese are more vulnerable than normal-weight children to the blandishments of TV food ads.

The -tide Drugs: Enthusiasm Runs Hot and Cold

August 24, 2023
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For the past few months, the -tide drugs (GLP-1 agonists) have dominated obesity news. The debate over the new weight-loss drugs is ongoing.

Processed Food Documentary Stirs Things Up, Part 2

August 21, 2023
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Wherever people are overwhelmed by cravings, and afflicted by disorders like binge eating and stress eating, gigantic corporations stand by.

New Drugs, Strong Arguments, Continued Again

July 28, 2023
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How much can the weight-loss drugs containing semaglutide or tirzepatide contribute to rewiring the brain in a direction that is not healthy?

New Drugs, Strong Arguments (Continued)

July 27, 2023
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There are arguments against GLP-1 agonists, the seemingly miraculous drugs that have garnered so much publicity lately.

Obesity and Telehealth, Continued

July 21, 2023
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What kind of personal feedback would kids want from their ideal telehealth program? One study looked into it.

A Decade of Tech, Part 14

July 19, 2023
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It might seem obvious, but one study proved that if we can keep kids from getting obese they won’t sit around so much in later life.

A Decade of Tech, Part 13

July 18, 2023
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Would information technology be more efficacious in helping parents develop the awareness and skills to give their kids the healthiest possible start in life?

A Decade of Tech, Part 11

July 14, 2023
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What is the relationship between being overweight and spending a lot of time on the phone? Some studies have looked into it.

Two Worrisome Trends

July 11, 2023
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When someone believes their body to be less corpulent than it actually is, that self-deception can be dangerous.

A Decade of Tech, Part 9

July 10, 2023
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Social media is being used by advertisers to push junk food to kids, but also by caregivers pushing healthful eating strategies to kids.

A Decade of Tech, Part 8

July 7, 2023
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Weight loss tech has included a variety of invasive, implanted devices that generate weight loss, but at what price?

A Decade of Tech, Part 7

July 6, 2023
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FitBits and similar devices track vital health data while providing both privacy and parental control.

A Decade of Tech, Part 6

July 5, 2023
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The resistance to tech in healthy weight management is surprising.

Finding the Path With Technology

June 26, 2023
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The relationship between obesity prevention and technology has been developing for years, and has branched off in many directions.

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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