Imagine a condition that has few visible symptoms, affects 20% of all Americans, nearly 40% of people in their 60s and 70s, and could dramatically increase your risk of heart attack. Now imagine that condition is something you have probably never heard of and know little about. If this sounds a bit alarming, or like […]
There are some diseases you can do very little about. Whether they come about by genetic factors or exposure to toxins and pathogens in your environment, some diseases and conditions are hard to avoid. There are other health conditions where you have almost total control over your risk, even if it doesn’t always feel like […]
Frosty the Snowman may have been threatened by melting away when it got too hot, but humans don’t really share that same trouble. Having extra body weight simply melt off sounds pretty tempting, but can a change in temperature really help you change your waistline? It turns out that sometimes the answer is “yes.” Many […]
Since the 1980s, obesity has become an increasingly prevalent health concern in both the United States and around the world. In fact, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has noted that mean body mass index (BMI), a common metric used to determine likelihood of obesity, has risen steadily across the globe. An even more concerning […]
There is no way around it—Americans are addicted to sugar. On average, we eat 2-4 times the recommended amount of sugar every day, and this trend is having drastic effects on our waistlines. As the effects of increasing sugar consumption become more and more apparent, the search for alternative sweeteners continues. For the last century, […]
A Happy Meal from McDonald’s is an institution in the lives of many kids in America. As we grow up, though, greasy cheeseburgers, fried chicken, and french fries are not so happy anymore. No matter how good it may taste, fast food can do a number on our waistlines. There are no two ways about […]
Nearly everyone has heard at some point that the average American eats too many calories. What is less well understood is exactly where these calories are coming from. Sugar is often the culprit, and with many people in the United States eating as much as 22 tablespoons of extra sugar a day in their diets, […]
Losing weight can be hard, and billions of dollars are spent every year by Americans trying to shed unwanted pounds. Fad diets, expensive exercise equipment, and unused gym memberships are just some of the tools people use to try to lose weight, but they’re usually ineffective and often demoralizing. When the traditional methods don’t work, […]
Each year, over 200,000 Americans elect to have gastric bypass surgery in the hope of finally making noticeable progress toward losing weight. Gastric bypass is by far the most common type of bariatric surgery, and many people choose it because of the perceived potential for losing a significant amount of weight in a relatively short […]
