The Ancestral Health Society just posted a video of my recent talk "What Causes Leptin Resistance?" Follow the link below to access it. Enjoy!
What Causes Leptin Resistance?
What Causes Leptin Resistance?
Showing posts with label presentations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label presentations. Show all posts
Thoughts on the McDougall Advanced Study Weekend
By
//
No comments:
For those of you who aren't familiar with him, Dr. John McDougall is a doctor and diet/health advocate who recommends a very low fat, high starch, whole food vegan diet to control weight and avoid chronic disease. He's been at it for a long time, and he's a major figure in the "plant-based diet" community (i.e., a diet including little or no animal foods).
Dr. McDougall invited me to participate in his 3-day Advanced Study Weekend retreat in Santa Rosa, CA. My job was to give my talk on insulin and obesity, and participate in a panel discussion/debate with Dr. McDougall in which we sorted through issues related to low-carb, Paleo, and the health implications of eating animal foods. I was glad to receive the invitation, because I don't see myself as a diet partisan, and I believe that my evidence-based information is applicable to a variety of diet styles. I saw the Weekend as an opportunity to extend my thoughts to a new community, challenge myself, and maybe even learn a thing or two. It was particularly interesting to compare and contrast the Advanced Study Weekend with the Ancestral Health Symposium, which is more Paleo- and low-carb-friendly.
General Observations
The attendees were a lot older than AHS attendees. I estimate that most of them were in their 60s, although there were some young people in attendance.
I don't place too much emphasis on peoples' personal appearance at conferences like this. You don't know what a person's background, genetics, or personal struggles may be, you don't know how closely they adhere to the program, and you don't know to what degree a group of people might be self-selected for particular traits*. But I will note that Dr. McDougall, his family, and many of the other starch-based/plant-based diet advocates tended to be extremely lean with low fat and muscle mass. They also tended to have a healthy and energetic appearance and demeanor. As I would expect, decades of exceptionally high starch intake hasn't made them obese or obviously ill.
Read more »
Dr. McDougall invited me to participate in his 3-day Advanced Study Weekend retreat in Santa Rosa, CA. My job was to give my talk on insulin and obesity, and participate in a panel discussion/debate with Dr. McDougall in which we sorted through issues related to low-carb, Paleo, and the health implications of eating animal foods. I was glad to receive the invitation, because I don't see myself as a diet partisan, and I believe that my evidence-based information is applicable to a variety of diet styles. I saw the Weekend as an opportunity to extend my thoughts to a new community, challenge myself, and maybe even learn a thing or two. It was particularly interesting to compare and contrast the Advanced Study Weekend with the Ancestral Health Symposium, which is more Paleo- and low-carb-friendly.
General Observations
The attendees were a lot older than AHS attendees. I estimate that most of them were in their 60s, although there were some young people in attendance.
I don't place too much emphasis on peoples' personal appearance at conferences like this. You don't know what a person's background, genetics, or personal struggles may be, you don't know how closely they adhere to the program, and you don't know to what degree a group of people might be self-selected for particular traits*. But I will note that Dr. McDougall, his family, and many of the other starch-based/plant-based diet advocates tended to be extremely lean with low fat and muscle mass. They also tended to have a healthy and energetic appearance and demeanor. As I would expect, decades of exceptionally high starch intake hasn't made them obese or obviously ill.
Read more »
Public Talk at the University of Virginia on Friday, January 17
By
//
No comments:
The talk will be titled "Why Do We Overeat? A Neurobiological Perspective". Here's the teaser:
Obesity is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized nations, yet this is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the United States, increasing obesity prevalence has paralleled a gradual increase of daily energy intake. Why do most Americans eat more than we used to, and more than we need to maintain a lean state, despite negative consequences? This presentation will touch on the neurobiology of action selection, the neurobiology of energy homeostasis, and why our central nervous system hardware may not be up to the task of constructively navigating the modern food environment.The talk will be attended by medical students, but I also hope to have some doctors and researchers show up, as well as people from the broader Charlottesville community. It will be a thought-provoking talk regardless of your background, and it will touch on some of my own work.
The talk will be held in the main medical school auditorium, MEB 3110, on Friday, January 17 at noon. You can find driving directions and parking information by following this link. You'll probably have to park in a parking garage, either the Lee Street or Central Grounds garage (directions in the link).
For a map of the UVA health system, follow this link. The Medical Education Building is number 44 on the map, and the talk will be in room MEB 3110 on the 3rd floor of the building.
See you there!
Recent and Upcoming Appearances
By
//
No comments:
Smarter Science of Slim
Jonathan Bailor recently released an interview we did a few months ago on the neurobiology of body fat regulation, and the implications for fat loss. It's a good overview of the regulation of food intake and body fatness by the brain. You can listen to it here.
Super Human Radio
Carl Lanore interviewed me about my lab's work on hypothalamic inflammation and obesity. I'm currently wrapping up a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Michael Schwartz at the University of Washington, and the interview touches on our recent review paper "Hypothalamic Inflammation: Marker or Mechanism of Obesity Pathogenesis?" Dan Pardi and I are frequent guests on Carl's show and I'm always impressed by how well Carl prepares prior to the interview. You can listen to the interview here.
The Reality Check podcast
Pat Roach of the Reality Check podcast interviewed me about the scientific validity of the "carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis" of obesity. The Reality Check podcast "explores a wide range of controversies and curiosities using science and critical thinking", and a dash of humor. This one should be very informative for people who aren't sure what to believe and want a deeper perspective on the science of insulin and body weight regulation. You can listen to it here.
Obesity Society conference
Next Thursday 11/9, I'll be speaking at the 2013 Obesity Society conference in Atlanta. My talk is titled "The Glial Response to Obesity is Reversible", and it will be about my work on the reversibility of obesity-associated hypothalamic neuropathology in mice. My talk will be part of the session "Neuronal Control of Satiety" between 3:00 and 4:30, specific time pending. See you there!
Jonathan Bailor recently released an interview we did a few months ago on the neurobiology of body fat regulation, and the implications for fat loss. It's a good overview of the regulation of food intake and body fatness by the brain. You can listen to it here.
Super Human Radio
Carl Lanore interviewed me about my lab's work on hypothalamic inflammation and obesity. I'm currently wrapping up a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Michael Schwartz at the University of Washington, and the interview touches on our recent review paper "Hypothalamic Inflammation: Marker or Mechanism of Obesity Pathogenesis?" Dan Pardi and I are frequent guests on Carl's show and I'm always impressed by how well Carl prepares prior to the interview. You can listen to the interview here.
The Reality Check podcast
Pat Roach of the Reality Check podcast interviewed me about the scientific validity of the "carbohydrate-insulin hypothesis" of obesity. The Reality Check podcast "explores a wide range of controversies and curiosities using science and critical thinking", and a dash of humor. This one should be very informative for people who aren't sure what to believe and want a deeper perspective on the science of insulin and body weight regulation. You can listen to it here.
Obesity Society conference
Next Thursday 11/9, I'll be speaking at the 2013 Obesity Society conference in Atlanta. My talk is titled "The Glial Response to Obesity is Reversible", and it will be about my work on the reversibility of obesity-associated hypothalamic neuropathology in mice. My talk will be part of the session "Neuronal Control of Satiety" between 3:00 and 4:30, specific time pending. See you there!
Speaking in Lisbon on October 5
By
//
No comments:
My friend Pedro Bastos graciously invited me to speak at a conference he organized in Lisbon on October 5 titled "Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases". I will give two talks:
- "Ancestral Health: What is Our Human Potential?" This talk will explore the health of non-industrial cultures in an effort to understand how much of our modern chronic disease burden is preventable, and it will briefly touch on one major aspect of non-industrial life that may protect against the "diseases of civilization". This presentation will focus on age-adjusted data from high quality studies.
- "Why Do We Overeat: a Neurobiological Perspective." This talk will attempt to explain why most of us consume more calories than we need to maintain weight-- a phenomenon that is a central cause of morbidity and mortality in the modern world. It will touch on some of the brain mechanisms involved in ingestive behavior, and outline a framework to explain why these mechanisms are often maladaptive in today's environment.
Pedro will speak about dairy consumption, vitamin D, and chronic disease.
The conference is targeted to health professionals and students of nutrition, however it's open to anyone who is interested in these topics. It's sponsored by NutriScience, a Portuguese nutrition education and consulting company. Sadly, I don't speak Portuguese, so my talks will be in English.
Access the full program, and register for the conference, using the links below:
AHS Talk This Saturday
By
//
No comments:
For those who are attending the Ancestral Health Symposium this year, my talk will be at 9:00 AM on Saturday. The title is "Insulin and Obesity: Reconciling Conflicting Evidence", and it will focus on the following two questions:
Why am I giving this talk? Two reasons. First, it's an important question that has implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity, and it has received a lot of interest in the ancestral health community and to some extent among obesity researchers. Second, I study the mechanisms of obesity professionally, I'm wrapping up a postdoc in a lab that has focused on the role of insulin in body fatness (lab of Dr. Michael W. Schwartz), and I've thought about this question a lot over the years-- so I'm in a good position to speak about it.
The talk will be accessible and informative to almost all knowledge levels, including researchers, physicians, and anyone who knows a little bit about insulin. I'll cover most of the basics as we go. I guarantee you'll learn something, whatever your knowledge level.
- Does elevated insulin cause obesity; does obesity cause elevated insulin; or both?
- Is there a unifying hypothesis that's able to explain all of the seemingly conflicting evidence cited by each side of the debate?
Why am I giving this talk? Two reasons. First, it's an important question that has implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity, and it has received a lot of interest in the ancestral health community and to some extent among obesity researchers. Second, I study the mechanisms of obesity professionally, I'm wrapping up a postdoc in a lab that has focused on the role of insulin in body fatness (lab of Dr. Michael W. Schwartz), and I've thought about this question a lot over the years-- so I'm in a good position to speak about it.
The talk will be accessible and informative to almost all knowledge levels, including researchers, physicians, and anyone who knows a little bit about insulin. I'll cover most of the basics as we go. I guarantee you'll learn something, whatever your knowledge level.