When I first saw the CDC’s MMWR latest report on obesity medication prescribing for adolescents, my initial reaction was probably the same as yours: less than 1 percent of teens with obesity got these medications in 2023? That seems pretty dismal.
But then I took a step back and looked at what this data is telling us. And honestly? We’re missing the real story here.
We’re witnessing something historic.
Think about where …
Alzheimer’s disease is a ruthless thief, silently stealing the essence of our identities: our memories. It robs us of cherished moments, meaningful relationships, and the independence that makes life vibrant and fulfilling. Traditionally viewed as an inevitable consequence of aging or genetics, groundbreaking research now challenges this perspective, suggesting Alzheimer’s may actually be a form of metabolic disorder aptly coined Type 3 diabetes.
The concept of Alzheimer’s as Type 3 diabetes …
Ten years old and terrified, my patient sat curled in the chair, tears flowing, knees pulled to her chest, refusing to go to school for the third week in a row. Her parents looked exhausted. “We have tried everything. We don’t want to medicate her… but we can’t keep going like this.”
As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I’ve had this conversation hundreds of times. Sometimes families walk in asking for …
I am a doctor of nursing practice and board-certified nurse practitioner with over a decade of experience in internal medicine, pulmonology, and sleep medicine. My career has taken shape in the diverse and fast-paced outpatient care settings of New York, where I’ve had the opportunity to serve patients from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of the individuals I care for face chronic respiratory illnesses, comorbid conditions, and significant …
Doctors are often praised for their resilience. It’s become a buzzword in medicine, touted as some catch-all antidote to physician burnout. It’s used in keynotes, wellness programs, recruitment ads, hospital HR emails—everywhere really. “Feeling burned out? Improve your resilience.” But I believe that this emphasis on resilience often misses the mark. Worse, it can subtly reinforce the idea that if you’re suffering, you’re not resilient enough.
But what if the problem …
As a physician, you’re trained to spot problems. You scan for risks, anticipate complications, and stay alert for what could go wrong. That mindset helps keep patients safe. However, over time, it can become automatic, even outside of work.
When your attention is always tuned to what’s missing or what might fail, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s going well. One physician I coached was deeply committed to his patients …
It happens more often than people talk about: You go to the bathroom, and suddenly you notice red or brownish urine in the toilet bowl. Your heart skips a beat. Is it something you ate? Could it be serious? Should you wait or call your doctor?
If you ever see blood in your urine, don’t panic, but don’t ignore it either. That red color, whether it’s faint pink or dark like …
The end of my belief came on a fall night in 2011. I was driving to a suburban restaurant to give a paid dinner talk on Niaspan for Abbott Labs. It was a typical night for a physician speaker—slide deck polished, HDL-cholesterol optimism intact. Then the results of the AIM-HIGH trial came over public radio. Niacin, when added to a statin, had no cardiovascular benefit. My world cracked. I never …
My name is Ava Kaufman, and my doctors didn’t think I would be alive today. I defied the odds after being listed for – and receiving – an experimental heart transplant.
Before my transplant, I was a healthy mother and businesswoman who loved to dance. I randomly noticed a rash appearing on my hands and shins, so I went to the dermatologist. They told me that I had psoriasis, but it …
I would never have thought I would be the one writing this piece.
I am a board-certified pediatrician and internist with a background in nutrition, well-versed in integrative medicine. Our family eats its fair share of kale, blueberries, and salmon. We hardly ever have a significant supply of junk food in the house. Fast food is a rarity, and she never even tasted juice in toddlerhood. And still, my child’s BMI …
Cardiovascular disease continues to be the #1 killer of Americans, both men and women.
Obesity and being overweight increase the risk of cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, but beyond these are independent risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease.
Unlike hypertension, which has been called the “silent killer” as its presence is too often unknown to people who have high blood pressure, Americans are rarely unaware …
Many of the physicians who come to my therapy practice share a quiet, painful fear. They’re already excellent clinicians. They know the medicine, stay up to date on the literature, and often find deep meaning in their work. But they’re worn down by the emotional toll of sitting with suffering day after day. They start to wonder: Why is this hitting me so hard when everyone else seems fine? Am …
Among Americans and Europeans, overweight and obesity are endemic. Excess weight is also a primary or contributing cause and a significant risk factor for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, several cancers, liver and kidney diseases, respiratory and musculoskeletal disorders, and mental health problems.
That being said, one can read any amount of advice we can make time for, concerning dieting or exercise. But a harsh reality persists: Fat …
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Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains one of the most common causes of maternal death globally. In many cases, it’s not a matter of lacking knowledge—it’s about lacking access to the tools we need.
In well-resourced U.S. hospitals, the JADA® System has in many ways been a paradigm change by using vacuum-induced uterine tamponade—a technique that creates gentle intrauterine suction to trigger uterine contraction and bleeding control. However, for the vast majority of …
Men don’t usually bring up prostate exams in casual conversation, and that silence is part of the problem.
Across clinics and exam rooms, we see it all the time: men who delay checkups until urinary symptoms become disruptive, or worse, when routine blood work turns into a cause for concern. The truth is, prostate screening isn’t about embarrassment or fear, it’s about staying one step ahead of issues that are common, …
“It is a sad state that fear of liability will oftentimes negate the moral choice made by a terminally ill patient.”
– Journal of Air Law and Commerce
Background
In August 2024, I gave a presentation, “You’re suing me because I kept your mom alive? Avoiding wrongful life lawsuits.” I discussed the consequences for medical staff when they disregard a valid DNR and revive a person, against their wishes. There are numerous nationwide …
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune-mediated neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 2.8 million people worldwide, and its incidence has risen over the past decade. As health and wellness professionals who have cared for people living with MS, we have both witnessed the ever-evolving journey and the roller coaster of emotions, psychosocial impact, symptoms, and health challenges that people living with MS face. The muscle weakness that makes walking more …
For a long time, I was close-minded to the idea of vitamin supplementation as a meaningful part of mental health treatment. Like many in medicine, I saw it as misguided at best and more a part of wellness culture than real science. However, over time, I realized how often we mistake “That makes sense to me” for “That’s objectively true,” as we are prone to fall prey to our mental …
As a reproductive endocrinologist, I see countless patients who walk through my doors with quiet stories of loss—sometimes the loss of hope, sometimes the loss of time. But every year, there’s a particular group of gentlemen who share a strikingly similar history.
They come from different countries. Many grew up in regions where the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine was unavailable or inconsistently administered. They had mumps as children, recovered, and thought nothing …
You see it before the final whistle blows. A boy—ten, or maybe nine—walks off the mat like he’s carrying bricks on his back. His face is red, his eyes damp. Waiting for him is his father, arms folded like a verdict. “You lost to that kid? You were up by two.” The boy opens his mouth, but nothing he says will be enough. The response is swift: a shake of …
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