It can be difficult for overweight or obese people to lose weight, yet many do so. What seems to be much harder is maintaining weight loss -- and the health benefits that can accompany it -- for the long term.
Dr. L.P. Svetkey and colleagues (JAMA 299; 1139-1148) compared different strategies for sustaining weight loss in a two-phase trial. They found that having brief, monthly personal contact with a weight loss interventionist offered a slight benefit over either an interactive technology-based intervention (a website) or simply self-directed methods.

Even after all the studies denying any link between vaccines and autism, last week we read an unbelievable headline: "U.S. Government Concedes Vaccines Cause Autism."

We may seem more progressive today than we were fifty years ago, and we are in a lot of ways, but on some issues such as sex we are still old-fashioned at heart. Vital information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer is probably missing from most sex education classes. In addition, kids surely haven't been told about the latest information about HPV. People young or old may have the false impression that oral sex is a relatively safe form of sex, but the truth is that in addition to familiar sexually transmitted diseases, it could be a risk factor for oral cancer.

The New York City Department of Health wants to increase the odds of people getting their flu and pneumonia shots by permitting pharmacists, not just doctors, to administer the inoculations. And the public could use the help: results from the Centers for Disease Control's new National Immunization Survey show that adult Americans arise woefully ignorant of the benefits -- and even of the availability -- of many of the vaccines recommended for them.

This piece originally appeared on March 5, 2008 in the Washington Times.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that manufacturers of FDA-approved medical devices cannot be held liable for defects in design or malfunction, unless the company lied in their application for approval.

Various facets of modern life (e.g., snack foods, television, unbalanced school food selections, etc.) have been blamed for the increasing prevalence of obesity and obesity-linked diseases in the young. A recent study by Leonard H. Epstein and colleagues in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (vol. 162:239-245) lends credence to the relevance of sedentary activities -- TV and computer use -- in contributing to youthful obesity.

Supplements in one form or another have been around for a long time, with the earliest written account of herbal remedies coming from China in 2800 BC. They can contain a variety of ingredients such as herbs, minerals, and vitamins and can be used for a variety of health reasons. However, sometimes people have blind faith about supplements, a belief that whatever is natural must be beneficial. This blind faith is unwise, as supplements are not closely regulated by the FDA, and false claims of their purported benefits can sometimes be harmful.

This piece first appeared on March 2, 2008 in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

In an apartment building on the Upper West Side of New York, 74th and Broadway, there is yet another controversy surrounding smoking and non-smoking residents.
While most of these issues involve smelling cigarette smoke from one apartment in another adjacent apartment, the debate this time is about the common area by the elevator. A couple doesn't want its four-year-old child to be exposed to the second-hand smoke and wants the smoking residents to stop smoking.

Be afraid, be very afraid, if you love to eat prunes or dried pears -- at least if you believe the hype about naturally occurring acrylamide in foods being a real risk to human health. Swiss scientists reported at a symposium held by the American Chemical Society that acrylamide can be found in some dried fruits. Since 2002, when Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide is formed in carbohydrate-containing food cooked at high temperatures, there has been a concerted effort to scare consumers about foods such as French fries and potato chips.