BLOGS
The Gravity of Weight Academic Blogs
for the psychologytoday.com
Website (diet section):
Boredom: An Endless Present
An appreciation of boredom in literature, art, science, and life.
December 3, 2024
Word Salad: A Misnomer
The psychological concept “word salad” has been misappropriated by the media.
November 5, 2024
Starstruck: The V.I.P. Patient
What are some of the difficulties in treating the V.I.P. patient?
October 6, 2024
Hypochondria’s High Anxiety
What is reasonable fear when it comes to health?
June 29, 2024
A Patient’s Need for That Empathic Witness
Writers reflect on their experiences as patients.
April 3, 2024
The Pickers and the Pullers
Psychodermatology explores the intricate connection between mind and skin
March 10, 2024
Germaphobia: An Infected Mind
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms can be mild or overtly debilitating.
February 4, 2024
Disgust: An Emotion Most Vile
Exploring our visceral reactions of revulsion.
January 8, 2024
The Weaponization of Hair
And how it can be used to oppress, punish, seduce, and rebel.
November 29, 2023
The Significance of Hair
We endow hair with psychological and symbolic meaning.
November 3, 2023
The Power of Dress
Far from frivolous, clothing can have immense psychological impact.
October 2, 2023
The Alchemy of Synesthesia
A remarkable, luminous way of experiencing the world.
July 24, 2023
On the Face of It: Pareidolia
We see faces in inanimate objects everywhere.
June 12, 2023
The Fat Child and the Concept of ‘Pound-Years’
Exposing the body to years of excess fat can take its toll.
April 30, 2023
The Turmoil of Uncertainty
Living with illness can create a state of suspended animation.
March 27, 2023
Tattoos: The Skin as Canvas
The body becomes a personal tapestry.
January 26, 2023
Collecting: A Demonic Passion
Understanding the questing spirit of the collector.
December 16, 2022
Milk by Any Other Name
Determining a “standard of identity” for milk.
November 1, 2022
Melatonin and the Anguish of the Marrow
This hormone may have a role in the treatment of osteoporosis.
September 24, 2022
Melatonin: A Potential Disease-Deferring Hormone
Darkness Visible: In all plants and animals.
August 18, 2022
A Writer in Pain
As an unwelcome, cruel guest, pain infiltrates the body.
July 3, 2022
Alzheimer’s Disease: The Inevitable Presence of Absence
Does metformin have any role in Alzheimer’s disease?
May 18, 2022
Metformin: Rejoicing in the Lost Lilac
The unlikely journey of a medieval herbal remedy.
April 27, 2022
Menopause and Hormone Replacement Therapy: A Woman’s Dilemma
Treatment must be individualized, and a woman should have a thorough workup.
February 15, 2022
The Turmoil of Menopause
The potential metabolic consequences during “The Change.”
February 4, 2022
Ain’t Misbehaving? Self-Inflicted Illness
We blame the victim for failures of self-care.
January 4, 2022
Symmetry’s Infinite Discords
Asymmetry reflects transience and precariousness in life.
November 29, 2021
In the Company of Scientists
Transforming the world, one experiment at a time.
November 4, 2021
Our Unnatural Fascination With All Things Natural
The word “natural” has taken on mythic significance in American culture.
September 30, 2021
Neither Sick Nor Healthy: Patients-in-Waiting
Surveillance medicine has created uncertainty for those at risk.
September 1, 2021
Treating the Pregnant Woman with Pernicious Vomiting
Evolution in our thinking about symptoms during pregnancy.
July 7, 2021
Nausea and Vomiting During Pregnancy: A Protective Mechanism?
Expectant women often experience distressing symptoms.
July 3, 2021
Is There a Link Between Sugar Intake and Cancer?
Excessive sugar could produce an environment conducive to some tumors.
June 8, 2021
What Is Preference Falsification?
People often misrepresent what they really think or believe.
April 27, 2021
Conspiracy: Doubt Mongering
When doubt evolves into conviction.
March 17, 2021
The Truth in Masquerade
Deception is common but detection is not
February 22, 2021
The Olfactory Landscape
Smell is our most underappreciated sense.
January 20, 2021
Our All-Too-Human Gullibility
We often fail to detect deception.
December 25, 2020
Fat in All the Wrong Places
The “too, too solid flesh” of ectopic fat
November 23, 2020
Chrono-Nutrition: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
When we eat may be as important as what we eat.
October 14, 2020
Controversy for Breakfast
Researchers investigate “the most important meal of the day.”
October 9, 2020
The Opium Eaters
Why are adolescents and young adults vulnerable to addiction?
September 9, 2020
Black Artists, Racial Equality, and Dr. Albert C. Barnes
Known for his art collection, he is less well known for championing civil rights
August 11, 2020
Guinea Pigging: Healthy Volunteers in Phase I Trials
Captives of circumstance” may participate in clinical research.
July 13, 2020
Fat: Death in the Time of COVID-19
Those with excessive weight are more vulnerable.
June 7, 2020
The Raging Cytokine Storm
The havoc wrought by an immune system gone rogue.
May 30, 2020
Traces of Ourselves: The Remarkable Power of Touch
Throughout the life cycle, most humans crave another’s touch.
April 25, 2020
The Biology of Loneliness
Part 2: The physical and psychological consequences of loneliness and isolation.
March 24, 2020
The Geography of Loneliness
Part I: Our human need for relationships with others—some definitions.
March 22, 2020
“A Privileged Way of Knowing:” Science and Aging Gracefully
Part 2: Attempts to increase our health span and ward off the effects of age.
February 5, 2020
The Intricate Choreography of Aging Gracefully
Part 1: A search to prevent the mental and physical withering of old age.
February 3, 2020
Hope: Our Mind in Suspense
The human need for an ‘optimal margin of illusion’ during illness.
December 30, 2019
Prized and Proscribed: Our Ambivalent Feelings About Meat
The idea of eating meat elicits strong reactions.
November 5, 2019
A Sacred Cow? Controversial Recommendations About Red Meat
“Dietary pseudo-confusion” has researchers seeing red.
November 2, 2019
Counterfactual Thinking: Imagining What Might Have Been
Those “metaphoric forks” of alternate possibilities along the path of life
September 29, 2019
Body Composition: Made to Measure
Determining how much of our body is fat and how much is fat-free.
August 15, 2019
Location, Location, Location: The Distribution of Fat
Where fat accumulates in the body may have serious health consequences.
August 13, 2019
Twin Studies: Determining the “Heritage of Corpulence”
Part 2: The contributions of heredity and environment on obesity.
June 22, 2019
Twin Studies and the “Heritage of Corpulence”
Part 1: Separating a shared environment from shared genes
June 22, 2019
Vegetarianism: “Shunning the Sacrilegious Taste of Blood”
A “nourishing life” on a diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, and seeds.
May 21, 2019
A Body in Motion: Exercise and Cognition
The science behind the relationship of exercise to cognitive functioning
April 15, 2019
The Scientific Coming of Age of an Old Concept: Hormesis
When a small dose has the power to heal
March 5, 2019
The Obliterative, Dislocating Effects of Stress
Mapping out sorrow: from homeostasis to allostasis and allostatic load.
January 24, 2019
On the Margin of the Impossible
Navigate through the flood of information on obesity.
November 6, 2018
The “Marrow of Zen” and a Beginner’s Mind
The evolution of an obesity narrative
October 28, 2018
Mathematical Models: Obesity by the Numbers
Toward greater precision in obesity research.
Sep 29, 2018
The Body as Metaphor: Social Class and Obesity
Genes influence our weight, but status may also have a major impact.
Sep 05, 2018
The “Disfiguring Mayhem” of Cancer Cachexia
Withering away: the deadly consequences of fatigue and emaciation.
Aug 10, 2018
Point of Order: Nutritional Prescriptions and Food Sequence
The complex ‘foodscape’ for glycemic control
Jul 01, 2018
Nuts With Benefits
What are some of the plausible effects on our health?
May 21, 2018
Chocolate: Glorify or Demonize?
A bittersweet look at this most commonly craved food.
Apr 13, 2018
Sleepers Awake! Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Poetic license in the study of sleep-related breathing disorders
Mar 09, 2018
The Handwriting on the Wall: Menu Labeling
Is posting nutritional information in restaurants “public health paternalism”?
Jan 18, 2018
The Long and the Short of It: Sleep Duration and Health
What we know about the metabolic consequences of too little or too much sleep.
Dec 21, 2017
Frozen: What Do We Know about Cryolipolysis?
Let it go: Removing adipose tissue through controlled cooling.
Nov 20, 2017
Time Present and Time Past: Obesity and Chronobiology
Setting limits and confronting our chronically fed state in a 24/7 environment.
Oct 19, 2017
The ‘Soy-ling’ of Our Food: The Versatile U.S. Soybean
Soy intake may be beneficial for health, but some still want more evidence.
Sep 11, 2017
Crossing the Thin Line to Starvation: Caloric Restriction
Beneficial or detrimental? The “dietary landscape” of caloric intake.
Aug 17, 2017
“Cholesterolphobia” and Eggs: What Do We Know?
Revisiting the “nutritional certainty” about restricting egg intake.
Jul 16, 2017
The Gambler’s Fallacy in Research
Down the “statistical garden path” for those participating in clinical studies.
Jun 18, 2017
The “Furry Test Tubes” of Obesity Research
The “intellectual leap” of translating science from mice to humans
May 14, 2017
Of March and Myth: The Politicizing of Science
Scientific integrity, self-correction, and the public
Apr 19, 2017
Salt Intake: Taking Advice With That Proverbial Grain
Is there a salt setpoint for optimal health?
Mar 09, 2017
Behind the Smoke-Screen of Vaping: E-Cigarettes
Condensing information from the nuance of vapor
Feb 03, 2017
Sugar by Any Other Name? Low Calorie Sweeteners
Why is there still confusion about sugar substitutes?
Dec 27, 2016
The Brittle World of Peanut Allergy
Navigating the daily potentially life-threatening challenges of food allergies
Nov 24, 2016
Interests Conflicted: A ‘Wicked Problem’ in Medical Research
Along a ‘continuum of moral jeopardy’ for scientific researchers
Oct 12, 2016
Is Extreme Childhood Obesity ‘Nutritional Neglect’?
How much are parents responsible for their children’s excessive weight?
Sep 14, 2016
The “Electrochemical Persuasion” of Neuromodulation
Was the treatment of obesity ever “brainless?”
Aug 13, 2016
Body Weight in the Time of Climate Control
Creatures of comfort: Entering the monotony of the TNZ— the thermoneutral zone
Jun 03, 2016
Marijuana and Weight: A Plant With Virtues to Be Discovered?
The “world’s most used illegal drug” has paradoxical effects on body weight
Apr 25, 2016
Adolphe Quetelet and the Evolution of Body Mass Index (BMI)
A 19th century ‘Renaissance man’ devised a ratio we use today.
Mar 18, 2016
The Care and Feeding of Myths: Breastfeeding and Weight
Separating out science from fiction in breastfeeding research on obesity
Feb 15, 2016
In Nutrition, Where Does Science Stop and Fantasy Begin?
Paleolithic diets: Hardly a “Garden of Earthly Delights.”
Jan 14, 2016
The Double-Edged Sword of Alcohol Use
The toxic and beneficial effects of drinking and its relationship to weight
Dec 20, 2015
Illusions and “Troubled Senses” of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
The psychological distortions and “monstrous maladies” of “imagined ugliness”
Nov 14, 2015
The “False Creation” of Body Image Distortions
A pilgrimage toward understanding “of its own beauty is the mind diseased”
Oct 15, 2015
Toward a ‘Knowledge of Causes…and All Things Possible’
Traversing the rugged territory from observed associations to causation.
Sep 17, 2015
Some Philosophical Musings on Food
Only a philosopher can ask, ‘What is the metaphysical coefficient of lemon?’
Aug 18, 2015
The Quicksand of Self-deception: The Nocebo Effect
Giving patients too much information about potential harm may be harmful itself
Jul 23, 2015
A Point of Reference: Weight and the Concept of Set Point
Is the set point just another point of no return for weight-challenged people?
Jun 22, 2015
The Melancholy of Anatomy: Excessive Weight and Depression
The complex relationship between weight and depressive disorders
May 21, 2015
The Self “Loathsome Gluttony” of Binge-eating-Disorder
When eating to live turns to out of control living to eat
April 21, 2015
Cancer Risk and Weight: Our Body and “Pathologies of Space”
What do we know about the relationship between excessive weight and cancer?
March 21, 2015
Smoking and Weight: Those “Burnt-out Ends of Smoky Days”
The burden of weight gain after smoking cessation
February 20, 2015
Food Cravings: Those “Torments of Expectation”
“Subdue your appetites, my dears and you’ve conquered human nature.”
January 24, 2015
“Sufficient Unto the Day:” The Complexities of Satiety
“Give us this day our day bread”–and a sense of fullness as well
December 30, 2014
Of Epidemic Proportions: The Primary Colors of Obesity
A metaphor by any other name: the obesity epidemic
November 23, 2014
Why Out of Sight Really Is Out of Mind
Research supports an underrated path to achieving your goals.
October 28, 2014
When Healthy Eating Turns Unhealthy: Orthorexia Nervosa
Excessive preoccupation with food quality & a judgmental attitude toward others
September 27, 2014
Holding a Mirror Up to “White Hat Bias” in Research
Mirror neurons, righteous zeal, and weight control
August 28, 2014
A Bone of Contention: Osteoporosis and Weight
“Down to the bone” may have some new connotations: the bone-fat connection
July 21, 2014
From the Frying Pan into the Fire? Saturated Fat and Health
Have we been misled about the evils of eating saturated fat for all these years?
June 14, 2014
Down the Rabbit Hole: When Medication Leads to Weight Gain
A particularly vicious circle when prescription medication makes you fat
May 21, 2014
“What Potions Have I Drunk?” Concerns about Diet Supplements
Are some so-called remedies for weight control worse than the disease?
April 26, 2014
Fat Shaming and Stigmatization: How Far Is Too Far?
A debate rages over the use of shame in public health.
March 30, 2014
The Puzzling Condition of Pre-diabetes
Dual citizenship in the “kingdom of the well” and in the “kingdom of the sick”
February 26, 2014
“What Hath Night to Do with Sleep?” Night Eating Syndrome
The controversies about making a diagnosis of an eating disorder
January 25, 2014
Healthy Obesity: An Oxymoron?
Are those who are healthy and obese really “patients-in-waiting”?
December 22, 2013
The Myth of “Nutritional Precision:” What Do We Really Know
Reading between the lines: Twinkies, pink slime, and food quality illiteracy
November 13, 2013
When the “Proof of the Pudding” is Not in the Eating
Waterproof, weatherproof, bulletproof, shatterproof, and now “Disease Proof”
October 15, 2013
College Weight Gain: Debunking the Myth of the ‘Freshman 15’
How much weight do college students really gain in their freshman year?
September 10, 2013
It’s Not Exactly Better Living Through Chemistry
Can environmental chemical pollutants lead to weight gain?
August 9, 2013
‘When the Bough Breaks’: Excessive Weight Before Pregnancy
Guidelines on how much weight a pregnant woman should gain
July 5, 2013
Great or Not Such Great Expectations: Weight Loss Goals
The goal-keepers: does it matter if your goals are ambitious or more realistic?
May 26, 2013
Human Bondage: America’s Not So Magnificent Food Obsession
Four books on their authors’ personal struggles with our obesogenic environment
May 8, 2013
Heavy: Uneasy Lies the Fat that Wears a Crown
The “crown-like structures” of dying white fat cells that ‘flesh is heir to’
April 26, 2013
The Medicalization of Weight: Are We “Disease Mongering?”
The daunting science of weight control.
March 29, 2013
The Hare and the Tortoise: Aesop’s Fable and Weight Loss
Does rapid weight loss necessarily lead to weight regain?
March 11, 2013
Gut Reaction: Can G.I. Bacteria Cause Weight Gain or Loss?
Changing the flora of our intestinal tract to regulate weight
February 19, 2013
Are We Sugar-Coating Sugar Substitutes?
There may be more artifice in artificial sweeteners than we realize
January 28, 2013
The Obesity Paradox: Is There an Ideal Weight for Health?
Can that “lean and hungry look” actually be detrimental to your life expectancy?
January 5, 2013
Top Ten Reasons Why We May All Be Getting Fatter
Will everyone in the U.S. eventually be either overweight or obese?
December 17, 2012
Searching for Magic Bullets: Weight-Control Meds
Hope continues to spring eternal for magic elixirs that will lead to weight loss
November 27, 2012
Weight Control: The Biological Brain,The Psychological Mind
How mind matters in weight control: piecing together puzzling questions
November 4, 2012
Strengthening Ties that Bind: Weight Control
What determines who are the people successful at weight loss and maintenance?
October 10, 2012
Weight: A Flu Shot in the Arm, A Shot in the Dark
Infection, the flu, and the immune response in obesity
September 23, 2012
A Towering Babel: Structural Frameworks for Weight
Can we all speak the same language about obesity?
September 1, 2012
Double-crossing the Double Helix: Weight & Genes
Metabolic imprinting and drifting through the “epigenetic landscape”
August 5, 2012
Fatal Flaws: Determining Who Is Overweight and Who Is Obese
How flawed measurement may underestimate the true prevalence of obesity
July 11, 2012
Supersizing and the Tyranny of the Soda Police?
“Consumption norms,” “portion distortion,” and the “completion compulsion.”
June 13, 2012
A Bitter Pill to Swallow: Grapefruit Juice and Medication
Some fruit juices may not be for breakfast anymore.
May 31, 2012
Special Delivery: What Can Brown (Fat) Do for You?
Newly discovered muscle hormone, irisin, has exciting potential for obesity.
May 12, 2012
String Theory: Attaching Incentives to Assist in Weight Control
Generating motivation to lose weight and maintain the loss.
April 16, 2012
Lead Us Not Into Temptation: The Neuroscience Behind the Marshmallow Test
What 40-year-old marshmallows can teach us about dieting
March 26, 2012
What Exactly is Cellulite? The “Cottage Cheese” Thighs of Gynoid Lipodystropy
When this cottage cheese is definitely not “fat-free”
March 1, 2012
Liposuction: The Most Unkindest Cut of All?
When to consider liposuction.
February 11, 2012
An Unbearable Heaviness of Being: Considering Bariatric Surgery
When diet, exercise, and even medication are not enough
January 23, 2012
Measure for Measure: A Madness in the Method for Studying Weight Control
Why don’t we know more about obesity than we do?
December 24, 2011
A Time for Every Purpose Under the Sun: The New Science of Chronopharmacology
They say timing is everything, but for taking medication?
November 14, 2011
We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident: The Obese Candidate for Elected Higher Office
Should morbid obesity disqualify a politician from seeking higher office?
October 2, 2011
Calling a Spade a Spade: Does Your Physician’s Own Weight Matter?
Steering between the Scylla and Charybdis of weight discussions
May 24, 2011
Frayed, Frazzled, at the End of Your Rope: Can Stress Cause Weight Gain?
Trying to cut one Gordian Knot of weight control
April 23, 2011
A Glass Half Full or Half Empty: How Much Water Do We Really Need?
Water pollution and debunking the rule of eight.
March 14, 2011
Strictly from Hunger: The ABCs of Insufficient Food
“Is there a right to food?”
February 11, 2011
From Snake Pit to Snake Oil: Diet Regimens
Are we still “beating the insane to keep them quiet?”
January 13, 2011
Sticker Shock: Can We Make Temptation Less Tempting?
Liking fries, not in spite of, but because they’re unhealthy
December 22, 2010
‘Tis Better to Have Lost and Regained Than Never to Have Lost at All
The ups, downs, and spin on yo-yo dieting.
December 11, 2010
The Body’s Damage Control: That’s the Way the Cookies Crumble
The fate of one chocolate chip.
December 5, 2010
The “Holiday Creep:” Seasonal Weight Gain
During holidays, do we gain as much as we think?
November 28, 2010
“Did You Ever See a Fat Squirrel?”
Not why are many overweight, but why is anyone thin?
November 22, 2010
Playing Havoc with our Circadian Rhythms: “Light Pollution” and Weight
God said, “Let there be light,” but not so much!
November 19, 2010
Sorting Through the Information Explosion about Weight Control
Casting a wider scholarly net amidst the expanding literature.
November 19, 2010