President William Howard Taft, the country’s was only morbidly obese commander in chief and a high-profile “yo-yo” dieter in his time, lost 60 pounds in the early 1900s on a low-carb diet with the assistance of a diet doctor.

he 27th U.S. president was lugging around 354 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame when he was inaugurated in 1909. His obesity was the subject of jokes, editorial cartoons and newspaper articles.

Letters uncovered between Taft and the English physician hired to help him lose weight, provide “a detailed look at patient care for obesity during this time,” says historian Deborah Levine, an assistant professor of health policy and management at Providence (R.I.) College and author of an article, out Monday, in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

In today’s medicine, doctors would likely reccommend President Taft weight-loss surgery — which usually provides substantial weight loss — or weight loss drugs, which have a minimal effect at best. But the diet he was advised to follow would be largely unchanged, Dr. Allison said.

Obesity — often said to be a product of our sedentary lifestyle and fast foods — has been a concern for over a century.

Obesity experts said Taft’s experience highlights how very difficult it is for many morbidly obese people to lose substantial amounts of weight and keep it off, and despite surgical options, how little progress has been made in regards to finding a balanced combination of foods that lead to permanent, sustainable weight loss.

 

Stronger Emphasis on Diabetes; Sleeve Gastrectomy Gets Nod

In a major shift in policy, three major medical societies have changed their formal guidelines for bariatric surgery and expanded eligibility to include patients with mild to moderate obesity and diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

Additionally, the societies—the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the Obesity Society—upgraded sleeve gastrectomy from investigational status to a “proven surgical option.”

The changes will bring the U.S. guidelines in line with practices increasingly used around the country and reflect evidence that has emerged in the four years since the previous guideline was developed. Read more

Unfortunately, and the woes of many, diabetes and obesity go hand in hand. According to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, artificial sweeteners are related to enhanced blood insulin and glucose response.

Although the findings reveal that the elevated insulin response shows patients are able to make enough insulin to deal with spiking glucose levels, it also shows that patients are secreting more insulin and if they can become resistant to its effects it could lead to type 2 diabetes. Read more