All Videos for Industry Influence

Hospitals Profit on Junk Food

Why is hospital food so unhealthy?



Do Vegetarians Really Have Higher Stroke Risk?

The first study in history on the incidence of stroke of vegetarians and vegans suggests they may be at higher risk.



What Not to Eat for Stroke Prevention

What is the relationship between stroke risk and dairy, eggs, meat, and soda?



The Role of the Toxic Food Environment in the Obesity Epidemic

Implausible explanations for the obesity epidemic, such as sedentary lifestyles or lack of self-discipline, serve the needs of the manufacturers and marketers more than the public’s health and the interest in truth.



The Role of Corporate Influence in the Obesity Epidemic

Like the tobacco industry adding extra nicotine, the food industry employs taste engineers to accomplish a similar goal: maximize the irresistibility of their products.



The Role of Food Advertisements in the Obesity Epidemic

We all like to think we make important life decisions like what to eat consciously and rationally, but if that were the case we wouldn’t be in the midst of an obesity epidemic.



The Role of Marketing in the Obesity Epidemic

The unprecedented rise in the power, scope, and sophistication of food marketing starting around 1980 aligns well with the blastoff slope of the obesity epidemic.



The Role of Processed Foods in the Obesity Epidemic

The rise in the U.S. calorie supply responsible for the obesity epidemic wasn’t just about more food but a different kind of food.



Cut the Calorie-Rich-And-Processed Foods

We have an uncanny ability to pick out the subtle distinctions in calorie density of foods, but only within the natural range.



The Role of Diet vs. Exercise in the Obesity Epidemic

The common explanations for the cause of the obesity epidemic put forward by the food industry and policymakers, such as inactivity or a lack of willpower, are not only wrong, but actively harmful fallacies.



What Are the Best Foods?

A review of reviews on the health effects of animal foods versus plant foods.



Pandemics: History and Prevention

How to treat the cause by preventing the emergence of pandemic viruses in the first place (a video I recorded more than a decade ago when I was Public Health Director at the HSUS in Washington DC).



What Are the Best Beverages?

A review of reviews on the health effects of tea, coffee, milk, wine, and soda.



Kids’ Breakfast Cereals as Nutritional Façade

Plastering front-of-package nutrient claims on cereal boxes is an attempt to distract from the incongruity of feeding our children multicolored marshmallows for breakfast.



The Recommended Daily Added Sugar Intake

Public health authorities continue to drop the upper tolerable limit of daily added sugar intake.



Is Skipping Breakfast Better for Weight Loss?

Breakthroughs in the field of chronobiology—the study of our circadian rhythms—help solve the mystery of the missing morning calories in breakfast studies.



Are Fortified Kids’ Breakfast Cereals Healthy or Just Candy?

The industry’s response to the charge that breakfast cereals are too sugary.



Does Sugar Lead to Weight Gain?

The sugar industry’s response to evidence implicating sweeteners in the obesity epidemic.



Highlights from the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Hearing

I was honored to testify before the US government’s Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Check out the video to see my speech and a few of my favorite excerpts.



Are Weight-Loss Pills Effective?

Studies show many doctors tend to overestimate the amount of weight loss caused by obesity drugs or were simply clueless.



Are Weight-Loss Pills Safe?

Why don’t more people take the weight loss medications currently on the market?



A Political Lesson on the Power of the Food Industry

The amazing story about what lobbying millions can do to shut down efforts to protect children.



Which Is a Better Breakfast: Cereal or Oatmeal?

The remarkable impact of the structure of food beyond nutritional content or composition.



Sugar Industry Attempts to Manipulate the Science

How the food industry responds to “health food faddists.”



Pesticides in Marijuana

The biggest barrier to reducing toxic pesticides in cannabis is, not surprisingly, the cannabis industry itself.



Is Butter Really Back? What the Science Says

Is butter—and other saturated fats—bad for you or not?



Is Lipstick Safe Given the Lead Contamination?

Dozens of lipsticks and lip glosses are put to the test.



How the Dairy Industry Designs Misleading Studies

How the meat and dairy industries design studies showing their products have neutral or even beneficial effects on cholesterol and inflammation.



Is Cheese Healthy? Compared to What?

Dairy is compared to other foods for cardiovascular (heart attack and stroke) risk.



Is Cheese Really Bad for You?

What about the recent studies that show cheese has neutral or positive health effects?



Are Acid-Blocking Drugs Safe?

Do the benefits outweigh the risks for acid-blocker drugs (proton pump inhibitors like Nexium/Prilosec/Prevacid)? What about baking soda?



The Best Advice on Diet and Cancer

What does the best available balance of evidence say right now about what to eat and what to avoid to reduce your risk of cancer?



Is Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Real?

There have been at least 46 studies involving more than a thousand people to see if those suffering from electrosensitivity are deluding themselves.



Are Apples the Best Food for a Better Sex Life in Women?

Addyi (flibanserin), the drug marketed for “hypoactive sexual desire disorder,” is ineffective and unsafe. What about dietary approaches for female sexual dysfunction?



Marijuana Legalization and the Opioid Epidemic

What happened in states after medical marijuana laws were passed? Did opioid overdoses go up, stay the same, or go down?



The Effects of Avocados on Inflammation

High-fat plant foods—avocados, peanuts, and walnuts—and olive oil are put to the test.



Does an Apple a Day Really Keep the Doctor Away?

Which would save more lives: eating an apple a day or taking statin drugs?



Will Cannabis Turn Into Big Tobacco?

There are some serious public health concerns about the legalization of marijuana, but they’re probably not what you might expect.



Are Sports Drinks Safe and Effective?

Commercial influences may have corrupted the American College of Sports Medicine’s hydration guidelines.



Do Mobile Phones Affect Brain Function?

The World Health Organization concluded that cell phone radiation may cause brain tumors, but what about effects on cognitive function?