Earlier this year, one of the nation's most influential medical associations released a new set of guidelines for treating childhood obesity. And it nearly broke the internet.
The recommendations, issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics for the first time in 16 years, say that pediatricians should stop taking a "watchful waiting" approach and instead embrace early, aggressive action to treat children and teens with obesity, which AAP defines as having a body mass index, or BMI, at or above the 95th percentile for a child's age and sex. The group recommends "intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment" for families with children as young as 2 years old, and in addition, weight-loss drugs for children 12 and up, and surgery for children 13 and up with severe obesity.
The reason for the shift in guidelines, experts tell me, is not only that doctors have more experience with weight-loss surgery and drugs than ever before, but also that the field's understanding of obesity has changed: Researchers now know that childhood obesity is a result of genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, not a personal choice. "It's not a situation of gluttony," says Mary Savoye, associate director of pediatric obesity at the Yale School of Medicine. "It's actually a complex disease." And by acting early, researchers say, children can reduce their future risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and fatty liver disease, which can lead to severe illness and premature death. Lifestyle therapy, says Sandra Hassink, a past president of AAP and an author of the new guidelines, is aimed at "pushing back" against unhealthy environments, with drugs and surgery serving as "adjuncts" to changes in diet and exercise.
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In the Name of the Mother - How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender
Shyamala Gopalan Harris did not believe in coddling. Pay her daughters, Kamala and Maya, an allowance for doing chores? “If you do the dishes, you should get two dollars,” scoffed the woman who this past summer, almost two decades after we spoke, would launch a million coconut memes. “You ate from the damn dishes!” Reward the future vice president of the United States—and possible future president—for good grades? Ridiculous. “What does that tell you?” her mother chided. “It says, ‘You know, I really thought you were stupid. Oh, you surprised Mommy!’ No.”
Kill the Messenger - The anti-disinformation field is retreating under attack.
A few months ago, a man crawling along a rooftop in Pennsylvania tried to murder Donald Trump at a campaign rally. Hours later, press releases started to circulate, from analysts, think tanks, politicians, and pundits, all offering to cut through the swell of confusion and misinformation.
Food + Health / Global Warning - Why Project 2025 is an environmental catastrophe in the making
When President Joe Biden took office, Democrats held a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a single-vote edge in the Senate. Despite the monumental odds, he has presided over the most productive presidential term for climate action in American history. Under Biden’s direction, the federal government took up the arduous task of incorporating climate considerations into scores of administrative operations and procedures. The epa cracked down on superpollutants and issued stricter emissions regulations for passenger vehicles. The Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate spending bill Congress has ever passed, brings the nation closer to its goal of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2030.
Trumpnesia - To get a second chance, Trump needs voters to forget his disastrous presidency.
One of the most oft-quoted sentences ever penned by a philosopher is George Santayana’s observation that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In 2024, this aphorism is practically a campaign slogan. Donald Trump, seeking to become the first former president since Grover Cleveland to return to the White House after being voted out of the job, has waged war on remembrance. In fact, he’s depending on tens of millions of voters forgetting the recent past. This election is an experiment in how powerful a memory hole can be.
WHEN IN DROUGHT
This obscure yet adaptable grain could be a healthy staple for a warming planet.
BAD HABITS
A spate of recent horror movies recycle tired tropes about nuns-and reveal society's ongoing discomfort with independent women.
Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.
Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.
THE ARCHITECT
TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Losing Faith
As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.
GOD'S COUNTRY
These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.
