tsaunders

Some unfortunate, but probably unsurprising news today - Peter and I have decided that we will no longer be publishing Obesity Panacea on Scienceblogs.  Future posts will be found on our new site at http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypancea.  We have come to this decision for a number of…

Image by thebittenword.com Last year I posted results from a study which suggest that having a breakfast high in fibre may be more satiating for a smaller number of calories, and thus may be one important way to help manage hunger and thus caloric intake. Today I came across another new study…

Regular readers of the Scienceblogs network will know that a new "advertorial" blog run by Pepsi has just been opened up on the network.  Since then, we've lost at least 2 of my favourite bloggers (here and here).  I'm actually on a self-imposed blog break at the moment (the posts this…

Today we have Scibling Showdown # 2 - the pros and cons of grad school.  This episode includes Jason Goldman of the Thoughtful Animal, Christie Wilcox of Observations of a Nerd and Scicurious of Neurotopia.  We talk about how we chose our current labs, things we wish we had known before…

Happy Canada Day!  It looks like a pretty nice day here in the capital as well as the rest of the country - a great chance to get in some physical activity with your friends and family!  Enjoy the long weekend! Travis

When many people set out to exercise, they do so with the primary goal of losing fat mass. There is much advice floating around about how to optimize or maximize fat loss during exercise; one of the most commonly touted is that of the fat burning zone. Essentially, it is suggested that when…

Image by shanevaughn Today is the first day of summer vacation here in Ontario, and I assume that the summer break has begun in most other parts of North America as well.  That means that millions of kids are looking at 8 gloriously school-free weeks in July and August.  Now while…

By now, readers of Obesity Panacea have hopefully learned that excess weight is not directly predictive of health risk, and that excess fat mass is not in itself unhealthy. Recall that approximately 30% of individuals who are classified as obese by their body weight turn out to be metabolically…

Image by thienzieyung Most people know that consuming too much fat, and especially saturated fat, is bad for your health.  That's why there has been a concerted push for several decades to get people to reduce the amount of saturated fat that they consume, and to replace it with complex…

Image by love janine. Although this may surprise some of our readers, I really like junk food. I eat far too much pizza, I love chicken wings, and Nutella, the original chocolate hazelnut spread, is one of my favourite breakfast condiments (it's tasty on a bagel, but its unbeatable inside a…

While we regularly post lengthy discussions on Obesity Panacea, there are many research updates, news stories, videos, etc. in the field of obesity, physical activity and nutrition that we come across on a daily basis that never grace the pages of the blog. Most of these mini-stories we share with…

Image by pugetsoundphotowalks. Apologies in advance for a very Warning - a proudly Canada-centric post today.  First, a bit of background - we Canadians pay two kinds of sales tax. The goods and services tax (5%) which is consistent across Canada, in addition to provincial sales taxes that…

Regular readers know that that Peter and I do a semi-regular podcast on obesity-related issues.  This week, I have a discussion with psychology researcher (and fellow ScienceBlogger) Jason Goldman (UPDATE: Jason's thoughts on the podcast here).  For the uninitiated, self-report data…

While we regularly post lengthy discussions on Obesity Panacea, there are many research updates, news stories, videos, etc. in the field of obesity, physical activity and nutrition that we come across on a daily basis that never grace the pages of the blog. Most of these mini-stories we share with…

Most weekends on Obesity Panacea we post our favourite obesity and fitness related news, stories and videos. This week I am only linking to one thing, because it is incredibly important and I'd really like everyone to check it out.  The final version of Toronto Charter for Physical Activity…

One of the most interesting things about exercise is that it results in important health improvements even in the absence of weight loss.  For example, just a single session of exercise can result in improved insulin sensitivity, increased levels of HDL cholesterol (aka the "good" cholesterol…

In June of last year, I discussed the results of a large epidemiological study in women that showed that women with larger breasts have an increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes. As soon as Travis and I read this study, we knew we had to do a follow-up study of our own to see if this…

While we regularly post lengthy discussions on Obesity Panacea, there are many research updates, news stories, videos, etc. in the field of obesity, physical activity and nutrition that we come across on a daily basis that never grace the pages of the blog. Most of these mini-stories we share with…

A few weeks ago Peter wrote about the Acai Berry Scam, and reader izzlecanoe made an interesting comment: But I do find it annoying that alongside your posts are advertisements for the very products you are exposing. Can science blogs be persuaded not to allow advertising from such woo pushers.…

Sorry for the absence the past few days - I am just back from the Bluenose Marathon Weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  My girlfriend and I have a lot of family and friends in Halifax, so the race was a great excuse to spend the May long weekend visiting with them.  Daun and I ran in the…

The following post was originally published on Obesitypanacea.com on October 7, 2009. As many of our readers know, I performed my MSc under the direction of Dr Bob Ross at Queen's University (Peter recently completed his PhD in the same lab).  Dr Ross is a world leader in the measurement…

Image by MikeBaird. Last week ParticipACTION and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) released recommendations for updated Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.  The previous guidelines were released between 1998 and 2002, and although they were based on the best research…

While we regularly post lengthy discussions on Obesity Panacea, there are many research updates, news stories, videos, etc. in the field of obesity, physical activity and nutrition that we come across on a daily basis that never grace the pages of the blog. Most of these mini-stories we share with…

The Toronto Charter for Physical Activity As many of you know, I spent last week attending the 3rd International Congress on Physical Activity and Public.  It. Was. Awesome!  I've been to 5-6 conferences since I started grad school in 2006, and they've all been good experiences, but…

As many of you probably know, when I am not working in the lab or posting here at Obesity Panacea I am also a content editor at ResearchBlogging.org. Each weekday a different Research Blogging editor selects their favourite posts from the past week in their area of expertise, and you can find my…

This week I will be heading to the International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health in Toronto, Ontario.  It should be a terrific conference - the program includes presentations by friends of Obesity Panacea including Drs Jen Kuk and Meghann Lloyd, not to mention other…

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Peter (aka Dr Janiszewski) successfully defended his doctoral thesis this morning!  As usual the presentation was excellent, and the reviewers all seemed quite impressed with the work in general.  With any luck he will have some time…

From the Obesity Panacea Archives: The following post first appeared on January 11, 2010. In the past year or so I've seen lots of online discussion about the nutritional value of juice, and the role that it may play in obesity and weight management.  Although there are a lot of good…

While we regularly post lengthy discussions on Obesity Panacea, there are many research updates, news stories, videos, etc. in the field of obesity, physical activity and nutrition that we come across on a daily basis that never grace the pages of the blog. Most of these mini-stories we share…

Image by thelastminute. You read that correctly - last week the RCMP was called in to break up a game of road hockey in Enfield, a suburb of Halifax, Nova Scotia.  From the Halifax Chronicle Herald [emphasis mine]: Ryan Jefferies and his buddies enjoyed playing road hockey almost every free…