I’ve spent three posts detailing the internal and external causes of obesity: appetite, metabolism, and our environment. The next question is: why do we care? Why should we concern ourselves about treating obesity? Not just vanity Beauty and weight have a complicated social position. Over the centuries, the ideal shape, size, and fatness of “beauty”…
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The Disease of Obesity, Part Three
In my previous two posts, I discussed appetite and metabolism. This post will focus on the many ways the typical American environment is weight-promoting. Changes in our daily lives, occupations, neighborhood walkability, and food supply all contribute to the increasing rate of obesity. Our food supply We have long suspected that there is something amiss…
The Disease of Obesity, Part Two
In my last post, I discussed the complexity of appetite. This post will cover another important topic: metabolism. Metabolism is a very complicated topic by itself. The Krebs Cycle has terrorized biology and medical students for decades. Metabolism is a dance of hormones, receptors, signals, and activity. Thankfully, I’m not going to subject you to…
The Disease of Obesity, Part One
The outgoing Biden administration recently proposed a new rule to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage. This rule, published on November 26, 2024, would finally allow for Medicare and Medicaid to treat obesity using anti-obesity medications. As of the time I am writing this, only 13 state Medicaid programs cover the cost of medications used to…
Vaccines in Appalachia: Polio
What is Polio? The oldest documentation of polio dates back to the time of the ancient Egyptians. Carvings and paintings from that time period show adults and children walking with canes and visibly deformed legs. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century, as medicine was embracing scientific principles of diagnosis and description, that a standardized…
Vaccines in Appalachia
This year has been an exhausting year for all of us, and we have all faced our own struggles in our own lives. In healthcare, we have been forced to deal with the emergence of the COVID pandemic, with all of its attendant suffering. Healthcare workers are constantly adapting to new information, worried about being…
The Ghosts of Weston State Hospital, Part Two
The Creation of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum “In the halls of what once was the area’s most reputable hospital, a demented doctor has brought his patients’ nightmares to life. Society’s undesirable souls have been abandoned in the dark recesses of this once safe haven. Their sole purpose is to serve the good doctor and his…
The Ghosts of Weston State Hospital, Part One
My Connection I grew up in Lewis County, West Virginia. I grew up in the southern part of the county, below where Stonewall Resort is today. When I was born, the glass industry of central West Virginia was in its last days,. I remember when the last glass factory in Weston shut down. Today, my…
Appalachian Epidemics: Poverty
Stereotypes and Reality I’ve debated covering this topic for some time now. I know that this is an important piece of our region’s history. It’s an important driving force behind so many of our epidemics, but I didn’t even know how to begin to attack it. I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to address…
Appalachian Epidemics: Infant Mortality
Three Babies, Three Decades This was a difficult post to write. I’m a mother of a 2 year old little girl, and it made my heart ache and my chest tight to think of losing her like so many Appalachian women lost their babies before me. It’s a difficult post to read. I’ve dispersed adorable…