Bariatric Dietitian Elizabeth Anderson learned lots of new things at Obesity Week this year. In no particular order she shares what she remembers after a crazy week in NOLA.

Here are just a few fascinating facts from the world's leading obesity researchers, scientists and surgeons gathered in NOLA for ObesityWeek2016:

1. There are 3 centers in the brain driving the ‘eat’ or ‘not to eat’ decision: the ‘I’m so hungry I would steal candy from a child’ drive, the ‘Ben and Jerry’s will make this sucky day, better’ drive and the ‘Oh, that cinnamon bun is so crazy gooey I need to eat one NOW’ drive.

2. The good news? Researchers have discovered that our hormone, Oxytocin or the ‘Love Hormone’ helps reduce our impulse to eat AND reduces calorie intake by rewiring the reward center in our brain. Only problem? It doesn’t last long in the bloodstream before breaking down. But researchers will try to make something similar.

3. People struggling with obesity are STILL being treated horribly by some healthcare providers. One study shows providers across the globe associate obesity with poor hygiene and dishonesty!??

4. The medical and research experts treating obesity now understand it is definitely a more complicated issue than balancing ‘calories in’ with ‘calories out.’

5. If a state like North Carolina charged a one cent tax on sugar sweetened drinks, they could raise 400 MILLION DOLLARS in one year!

6. Visits to registered dietitians are covered by the Affordable Care Act.

7. Employers can ‘opt out’ of covering obesity medications. I don’t think this option exists for blood pressure meds, do you??

8. One of the hormones in our gut actually raises H. E. double toothpick when we lose weight through dieting. It sets off bells and whistles begging us to eat!

9. Up to 70% of patients have copper deficiency pre-op and it’s usually due to taking zinc supplements!

10. More and more providers are adding obesity medications to their therapy regimen for WLS patients ‘stuck’ in their weight loss efforts.

1. There are 3 centers in the brain driving the ‘eat’ or ‘not to eat’ decision: the ‘I’m so hungry I would steal candy from a child’ drive, the ‘Ben and Jerry’s will make this sucky day, better’ drive and the ‘Oh, that cinnamon bun is so crazy gooey I need to eat one NOW’ drive.
I think I might, if it is possible, to be intimately familiar with all three of these centers. If my brain is big enough.


6. Visits to registered dietitians are covered by the Affordable Care Act.

7. Employers can ‘opt out’ of covering obesity medications. I don’t think this option exists for blood pressure meds, do you??

Two great and opposing examples of "Penny-wise and dollar-foolish". I think we all here know very well that it is less expensive to be fit and healthy. Many employers look at the immediate dollar cost but fail to see that a healthy, and thus happy worker is an long term investment who would....nay, WILL, cost less without all the various maladies and medications obesity brings with it.

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Very informative thank you for sharing.1 i think my three centers have a tendency of going off all at once. 2 i rather be walking around like a fool in love than just loving food.3.have come across a few of those health care providers my self jerks. 4. Hope the rest of the world catches on too. 5. Hey we could get out of debt by taxing sugar sweetened drinks. 6. Now they tell me????7.can i opt out from paying the 20 percent from surgery.8.hope they cut those lil suckers out.9. Wow i am finally part of a click and didnt even know it. However never took zinc is it in like a blood pressure pill or something? 10. Really?