No one will argue that we have a serious weight control and obesity issue in the United States and every industrialized country. For the most part, public policies to combat the problem have been failures. To understand the underlying problem, we must first begin with understanding our physiology.
Disease
Modeling the COVID-19 pandemic has become a quasi cottage industry, both in creating the models (as well as their subsequent failed predictions and criticisms). A new model takes on the hardest of variables to accurately portray: behavior. Not of the virus, but of its human hosts.
According to the CDC, food allergies continue to be a growing problem for children. Peanut allergy is the number one food allergy among children, and its incidence has increased by 21% since 2010. What happens to our body when we have a peanut allergy, and why are some schools declaring themselves nut-free?
There are numerous opinions about the best way to handle (or perhaps end) the COVID pandemic. They range from more strict lockdowns, to "let's open as quickly as possible" coupled with the hope to keep it in check. A pandemic expert picks the first way. It's very unpopular. Is it even a realistic choice?
A century ago, the Flu Pandemic was bimodal. Its first peak was in late winter of 1917, before returning with vengeance in the fall-winter of 1918. COVID-19, too, has shown a seasonal variation, with its early peak last year and another rise now that seems to be fading away. So, some questions: Where do these viruses go? Do they leave at all? What makes them seasonal? Let’s explore.
Last spring, New York City was the first major COVID-19 hot spot in the U.S., with cases and subsequent deaths surging out of control. Residents sought refuge from the burgeoning plague by fleeing the City, and suburban real estate markets became inflated. However, by midsummer and fall rates of new COVID cases in New York dropped and became among the lowest in the nation. What happened?
How will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Will it burn itself out, find an equilibrium more like the seasonal flu, or will it continue to rage despite all we try?
It's impossible to know for sure if Rush's cigar smoking caused his lung cancer, but it certainly increased the risk, even though cigar smokers don't inhale the smoke.
This monthly report presents systematic descriptions for the U.S.'s six geographic regions using state-level [1] COVID-19 cases based on positive tests, subsequent deaths, and case-fatality ratios (CFRs).
I just scored shot #2. It wasn't as pleasant as shot #1. And there were few surprises.
Obesity has been a health problem long before it became a COVID-19 risk factor. The most significant advances in its medical, rather than behavioral treatment, has been bariatric surgery, until now. Could Big Pharma triumph over Big Knife?
I wrote several weeks ago about the possibility that the UK variant, B.1.1.7, in addition to being more infectious, may be more deadly. The data provided to the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has now been updated. Here is what we know now.