Obesity
by Jenna Ogilvie | May 26, 2017 | Commentary, Perspectives
The importance of good nutrition practices on health and well-being has been recognized for thousands of years. One familiar quote attributed to Hippocrates, “Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” illustrates our long-time appreciation of the...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Apr 3, 2017 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Childhood obesity continues to be a serious public health concern in the United States. About 12.7 million children and adolescents aged 2–19 years, or 17 percent of the population, have obesity (CDC, 2016). In addition to genetic and behavioral factors, the...
by Laura DeStefano | Mar 24, 2017 | Commentary, Perspectives
For health professionals, stress and eating often combine in unhealthy ways. The stress comes early in their training and lingers throughout their careers (Almajwal, 2016; Curran and Boland, 2000; Kinzl et al., 2006; Pillet, 2010; Wajid et al., 2016). Anyone who has...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jan 18, 2017 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
High obesity prevalence persists as a major issue for societies globally (IOM, 2012; WHO, 2013). Chronic overweight and obesity have high health, social, and economic costs (Hammond and Levine, 2010), and the benefits of achieving and maintaining healthy weight...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jan 13, 2017 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Obesity now affects 35 percent of men, 40 percent of women, and 17 percent of 2- to 19-year-old children and adolescents in the United States (Flegal et al., 2016; Ogden et al., 2016). Neither clinical nor environmental changes alone are sufficient to address a...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Sep 19, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
About the Vital Directions for Health and Health Care Series This publication is part of the National Academy of Medicine’s Vital Directions for Health and Health Care Initiative, which commissioned expert papers on 19 priority focus areas for U.S. health policy by...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Aug 2, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Breastfeeding offers numerous health benefits to children and women globally. For this reason, international health organizations and American expert groups strongly support this infant feeding behavior (Victora et al., 2016). Given the high cost-effectiveness of...
by Jenna Ogilvie | May 31, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
In a list of 17 high-income countries, the United States ranks last in terms of life expectancy for males and second-to-last for females. The U.S. population also experiences worse outcomes compared with its peers in nine key areas: infant mortality and...
by Jenna Ogilvie | May 3, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Introduction Overweight and obesity, and their negative sequelae, have become the focus of policy makers, business leaders, health care systems, and the general public in the United States and globally. Currently, one in three children and adolescents in the...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Mar 31, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Background Similar to the national rates of high blood pressure, data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System indicate that the New Hampshire rate of hypertension is just over 30 percent (CDC, 2013; New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and...
