Build Up Catch Up - 12/30

New Year/”new you” - Are you bracing yourself for “New Year/new you” posts and articles? New fad diets? ‘Quick ways to effortlessly lose weight’? Fat shaming and diet culture messages?

Here’s what Sarah wrote in our Weight Management and Bariatrics group Sarah Lynn Troha

“New year…same you. If every new year starts with the idea of being a new “you”…then I feel like the goal is already setting up someone for failure. I encourage new year…new relationship with food/movement/body, new mode of stress management, or new awareness and application of kind attention/self-compassion….Maybe new year…new mindset?”

• Bonus Listen: Are you involved with worksite wellness weight loss competitions or has your company approached you about handling this? If so, a must listen is this recent Maintenance Phase podcast Maintenance Phase Workplace Wellness

BIG news in pediatric obesity: FDA approves once-weekly Wegovy® injection for the treatment of obesity in teens aged 12 years and older

This happened pretty quietly on 12/23 and in fact it wasn’t until Build Up friend Ted Kyle @ConscienHealth wrote about it that we were even aware. (Note: his blog contains links to thhe Novo Nordisk announcement as well as the FDA announcement) Any thoughts on this?

Panera - Panera was in the news this week about their "charged lemonade". At 350 calories for a 20 oz cup, it packs a punch of added sugar (82 g) and 260 mg caffeine (from guarana and coffee extract). Various dietitians weighed in on this like Keri Gans in SELF and Jessica Cording in SHAPE .

It’s worth it to point out that an 8oz cup of coffee has 95 mg of caffeine (about 237.5mg caffeine in 20oz) so this is really not that much more caffeine than coffee, but it is a big helping of added sugar. We are guessing many wouldn’t expect that much sugar or caffeine in a lemonade. Bottom Line: Read nutrition facts and buyer beware

#WooWords - words with a “health halo” …these are words that you can find on product packaging and websites. As Build Up friend, Nick Tiller wrote, “The appearance of one (or more) of the above terms in a health claim does not mean you are necessarily dealing with a pseudoscience, but it should force deeper reflection on the claim…the words themselves are not generally problematic...they have been coopted and their meanings corrupted by modern marketing and snake oil salesmen to sell product."

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/ten-health-and-wellness-buzzwords-every-skeptic-should-know/

What are some of these words? Dr. Tim Caulfield (and a late breaking shout out for Dr. Caulfield for receiving the great honor of receiving the Order of Canada for his work fighting health misinformation.)

Our Facebook followers suggested even more:

-Katherine S. - “plant-based”

- Tabitha P. - “gut healthy”

-Tracey T. - “hormone balancing”

-Jenny C. - “detox”

-Sandra H. - “clean”

-Valerie M. “keto”