Plus: Rice feeds billions but fuels climate change
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Lead story Weight loss is one of those topics whose secrets seem to be revealed nearly every day while paradoxically remaining shrouded in mystery. After some hard-earned lessons, I’ve come to understand that when it comes to weight – no matter how insistently your friends or family or society at large tells you there is one size that ensures you health and attractiveness – it is truly to each their own. But it’s one thing to intuitively believe something, and another to empirically know it to be true. That’s why I asked Dr. Kim Pfotenhauer, an obesity and diabetes specialist at Michigan State University, to explain the complex biology behind weight loss. She describes the different models that scientists have developed to understand how the body resists weight change to protect you from starvation. “Weight balance is complex,” Pfotenhauer writes, “and one size – or theory – does not fit all. [How faith and religion drive the world. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, This Week in Religion.] |
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Vivian Lam Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor |
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Each person’s body has a different sweet spot for weight that it tries to maintain. Francesco Carta fotografo/Moment via Getty Images
Kim Pfotenhauer, Michigan State University Your body adjusts your food intake and activity to maintain a balanced weight and avoid starvation. Researchers have proposed several theories explaining how this works. |
Health + Medicine |
Liana Woskie, Tufts University; Kimberly Turner, University of Pittsburgh Changes in how healthcare is managed have had a meaningful effect on what contraceptive options are available to women. Jordyn Tovey, University of Michigan Sensationalizing extreme behaviors like self-starvation and ‘bonesmashing’ rather than treating them as mental health symptoms can prevent boys and young men from getting much-needed care. |
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International |
Luisa Blanco, Pepperdine University; Institute for Humane Studies; Isabella Elias, Pepperdine University Short-term humanitarian aid won’t go far in alleviating Cuba’s long-term energy crisis.
💬 Comments open |
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Economy + Business |
Amanda Nothaft, University of Michigan Property tax reform in Detroit could boost homeownership and attract new residents and businesses.
💬 Comments open Christopher Justin Einolf, Northern Illinois University The Trump administration has made many threats against nonprofits whose missions it disagrees with. |
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Environment + Energy |
Michelle Hummel, University of Texas at Arlington Years of industrial expansion have boosted water demand, with no new sources coming online since 2016. Desalination and reclaiming sewage wastewater are among the current options. Hanqin Tian, Boston College; Jingting Zhang, Boston College; Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Shufen (Susan) Pan, Boston College There are ways to reduce emissions without sacrificing yield. A new study shows how, and looks at a technique billed as ‘climate-friendly’ that makes emissions worse. |
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Science + Technology |
Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy, Miami University Efforts to use technology to police copyright evolved into companies using copyright law to lock people out of repairing their own devices. |
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Podcast 🎙️ |
Gemma Ware, The Conversation Economist Can Cinar talks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about how Javier Milei’s policies to cut inflation are making Argentinians feel poorer. |
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The Conversation News Quiz 🧠 |
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s a question from this week's edition: Formula 1, the international racing league, has announced that it plans to achieve what surprising goal in the year 2030?
- A. Cars with no advertising
- B. Net-zero carbon emissions
- C. 100% electric cars
- D. Races on all 7 continents
Test your knowledge |
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About The ConversationWe're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. |
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