Media & Research Roundup - April 2024
Image description: A photo of black headphones with three books between the earpieces.
By Bill and Terri Weitze
CONTENT WARNING: Some articles featured in the Media & Research Roundup may refer to stigmatizing events or use stigmatizing language.
February 15, 2024: Christine Byrne, MPH, RD shares five ways to reduce diet culture in your life.
March 11, 2024: Ragen Chastain discusses the risks and (lack of) efficacy of weight loss drugs that healthcare professionals should be sharing with their patients.
March 11, 2024: Weight gain has been associated with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and for years restrictive dieting was recommended despite lack of scientific evidence of any benefit. Now, the International PCOS Network has removed all references to calorie restriction and instead recommends a balanced diet.
March 14, 2024: Doctors who still think weight loss is the answer to all medical problems are pushing weight loss drugs instead of treating their patients for their current health concerns.
March 17,2024: Researchers will be presenting their (non-published/non-peer reviewed) study claiming that consuming less than 800 calories a day for rapid weight loss is an acceptable treatment, even for teens, as long as they are supervised by an experienced dietitian.
April 3, 2024: Some food manufacturers are co-opting the anti-dieting movement to promote what some call “junk food,” claiming that demands for clearer content labeling is food shaming. Others are blaming anti-dieting for weight gain and unhealthy food choices.
April 11, 2024: Arkansas was the first state to implement school weigh-ins and height-measuring, sending letters to parents including children’s BMI. Many other states followed suit, but after researchers found that these letters resulted in no weight loss, the practice of mailing warnings home has been dropped, but children across the country are still being subjected to BMI measurements at school.