E205: Here’s what sugar and zero-calorie sweeteners do to your body

May 17, 2023

Today we speak with an expert on sugar and things meant to replace it. The stakes are high. Very high. Sugar consumption in the population is astronomical and so is the use of sugar replacements. Knowing the impacts of both could help experts provide dietary guidance and help consumers make decisions. Dr. Robert Lustig is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. He specializes on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system; body weight regulation, appetite, metabolism, and is very well known for his work on sugar and their substitutes and on policies aimed at improving the diet of the population. A YouTube video on the effects of consuming sugar called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” has now been viewed 24 million times.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Diet & Nutrition | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Safety & Food Defense | Microbiome | Zero Calorie Sweeteners |

 

E177: Introducing Operation Good Food & Beverages – New Way to Think about Black Activism

July 27, 2022

What can be done to reverse racialized marketing of unhealthy foods to Black Americans? What if healthy eating could be seen as a radical act, or even as a form of Black activism and liberation? Today, we’re talking about these issues with Dr. Shiriki Kumanyika about a new campaign called Operation Good Food and Beverages. This is an advocacy movement developed by and for Black youth who want to reclaim healthy food as part of Black lives. Shiriki is an emeritus professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and research professor at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Advocacy & Food | Childhood Obesity | Equity, Race & Food Justice | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing |

 

E164: Highly Successful Weight Loss Drug Semaglutide Explained

May 3, 2022

Much attention has been paid recently in both scientific circles and in the media to a drug for weight loss newly approved by the FDA. A flurry of articles in the media hailed this drug as a breakthrough. This was prompted by the publication of a landmark article in the New England Journal of Medicine addressing the impact of this medication in a large clinical trial. Today’s guest is one of the authors of that paper. Another flurry of media attention occurred as the drug became available, with news that supply couldn’t keep up with demand. Dr. Thomas Wadden is the Albert J. Stunkard Professor and former Director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is one of the most highly regarded experts on treatments for obesity, having done some of the most important research on very low-calorie diets, a variety of medications, bariatric surgery, intervention in primary care settings, and more.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Obesity | Weight Stigma |

 

E161: New Movie “El Susto” Tackles the Tragedy of Sugary Drinks in Mexico

March 29, 2022

Consumption rates of sugared beverages in Mexico are extraordinary and take a very real toll on the health and well-being of the people who live there. Today’s guest tells that story in a film called “El Susto.” In response to the health crisis precipitated by soda consumption, the Mexican government passed a soda tax in 2014. While Mexico is one of more than 50 countries with such taxes, it is a place where the story has been told in the most detail, in a combination of scientific studies, press coverage, and now the film “El Susto.” This award winning film was created by documentary filmmaker, Karen Akins, who joins us today.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Advocacy & Food | Food Policy | International Food & Ag Policy | Movies & Food | Soda Taxes | Weight Stigma |

 

E159: Ultra-processed Foods Have Addiction Impact on our Bodies

March 17, 2022

Much has been written and said about ultra-processed foods, first in scientific circles and now more broadly in the media. This concept is relatively new, but what is even newer in this discussion is how such foods figure into the issue of food and addiction. Our guest, Dr. Ashley Gearhardt is doing pioneering work on this. So, we eat a lot of these foods. A paper published several months ago, found that as much as 80% of all calories consumed in the US and in Canada come from such foods. Such diets are high in added sugar, in fat and saturated fat and low in fiber and key vitamins and minerals. We’ve recorded earlier podcasts on ultra-processed foods, most notably with Dr. Carlos Monteiro, who created the term. But now let’s talk addiction. Ashley Gearhardt is Associate Professor in the department of psychology at the University of Michigan and as a leading expert on the issue of food and addiction.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Food Safety & Food Defense | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |

 

E162: Ultra-processed Foods Need a Warning Label to Protect Consumers

March 3, 2022

In today’s podcast, we’re talking about ultra-processed foods. Our guest today is Trish Cotter from the global public health organization Vital Strategies. She’s the author of a new commentary published in the BMJ Global Health calling for warning labels on ultra-processed foods.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Food Industry Behavior & Marketing | Food Policy | Food Safety & Food Defense | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |

 

E152: The Underrated Power of Self Talk and Self Care in Weight Loss and Wellness

January 13, 2022

Our guest today is Dr. Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer of WW, the company that many of us remember as Weight Watchers. Gary is one of the most respected scientists in the obesity field and is the author of a book released recently called “The Shift: 7 Powerful Mindset Changes for Lasting Weight Loss.”

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Obesity | Weight Stigma |

 

E150: What Food Policy Advocates Can Learn from Tobacco Industry Strategies

December 2, 2021

This is “The Leading Voices in Food” podcast but today we’re speaking with a leading voice in tobacco control. “How come,” you might ask, “why?” So I believe for many years that the parallels between the tobacco industry and food industry practices are nothing short of stunning, and that our field would do very well to learn lessons learned from the pioneers in the tobacco wars. Our guest today is Dr. Kenneth Warner, Distinguished Emeritus Professor and former Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan. Ken’s research focuses on the economic and policy aspects of tobacco and health.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Advocacy & Food | Food Policy | Soda Taxes | Ultra-processed Food & Additives |

 

E149: “We’ve had it backwards” – New model explains weight gain and obesity

November 27, 2021

A paper just released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition challenges, and I mean really challenges conventional thinking about nutrition, weight gain, and what has caused the very rapid and profound increase in obesity rates over the last 50 years. This is a landmark paper by any standard, and saying that it will raise eyebrows is an understatement. The paper is authored by a number of distinguished nutrition scientists. The lead author is Dr. David Ludwig from Harvard University.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Eating Disorders | Obesity | Weight Stigma |

 

E148: Weight Loss Study Drives New Insight into Role of Carbohydrates

November 16, 2021

For nearly 70 years now, Americans have been bombarded with advice on how to lose weight. Countless diet books have become bestsellers. Some diets like Atkins keep coming back in sort of a recycled way. And there really hasn’t been agreement, even among nutrition scientists, about which approach is best. Lots of attention has focused in recent years on carbohydrates, but over the years, protein and fat have had plenty of attention. In this podcast, our guest, Dr. David Ludwig of Harvard University, discusses this history and the reason for re-envisioning how best to lose weight – and for people to maintain the weight loss, perhaps the most important issue of all. Ludwig recently published a landmark, exquisitely designed and controlled study that tests whether limiting carbohydrates actually makes sense. This study, published in the “American Journal “of Clinical Nutrition 2021,” has been generating lots of attention.

Related podcasts: Addiction & Food | Childhood Obesity | Eating Disorders | Obesity | Weight Stigma |