Obesity Archives

02.06.2026 Weigh scales tied with measuring tape on a yellow background, top view. BMI concept

Health Equity

Beyond the Number: Why Public Health Should Rethink Use of BMI

When BMI drives decisions about care and coverage, it can reinforce stigma and deepen the inequities that public health is designed to reduce.

Fellow Aidan Stotz

09.15.2025 Portrait of a young man looking out a window

A Generation Growing Up Sick

In the last ten years, rates of obesity, depression, high blood pressure, and other chronic conditions have increased among young adults.

Fellow Aidan Stotz

09.13.2024 Cropped image of person's feet standing on a scale with a tape measure in the foreground. weight loss from Ozempic concept

Health Equity

Rolling Out the Red Carpet for Ozempic

Body image trends have led those without diabetes to seek anti-diabetic medications, like Ozempic, and doctors are liberally prescribing them.

Fellow Heather Sherr

07.17.2024 Shadow of a stressed, poverty-stricken man standing in alley

The Chronic Challenges of Poverty

People living in poverty are at an increased risk for chronic inflammation, a cause of symptoms linked to diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Fellow Heather Sherr

03.16.2023 a woman wearing glasses and a necklace

Health Equity

Katherine Flegal

Katherine Flegal is a consulting professor at Stanford University and is one of the most highly cited researchers in obesity epidemiology.

Fellow Hannah Tremont

03.09.2023 a map of the united states

Weighed Down by Discrimination

Roughly 42% of U.S. adults experience weight discrimination, yet Michigan is the only state where discrimination based on weight is illegal.

Fellow Hannah Tremont

11.09.2022 girl standing on scale

Childhood Weight Affects Puberty Timing

Childhood obesity, a known risk factor for early puberty in girls, is also a risk factor in boys.

Guest Author Ai Kubo

07.25.2022 a scale with a yellow tape measure

Health Equity

Common Myths About Obesity

Misinformation leads to ill-advised public health approaches to treating obesity.

Guest Author Callie MacDonald

04.05.2022 a graph with numbers and symbols

Breaking Down the BMI

Researchers formulated a new definition of metabolic health based on systolic blood pressure, use of blood pressure medication, waist-to-hip ratio, and presence of diabetes symptoms.

Fellow Hannah Tremont

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