 by Mike Devlin When we hear “Harvard Pilgrim Health Care”, most of us immediately think of health insurance, and nothing more. But is that true? Not exactly…
But why are we talking about this on an obesity blog? What does Harvard Pilgrim have to do with healthy eating/living? How do they approach or address obesity related issues in our community? And why should you care? We asked Mike Devlin, Director of Grants and Initiatives at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation:
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 by Kristina Lewis, MD The next time you take your car in for a major service - just for fun, ask the mechanic to try doing the whole thing without using any of the tools at his disposal. When you do, I suspect you’ll get an incredulous look and probably a shake of the head; maybe even a comment like:
“I have about 20 tire rotations to do today, and there is no way that is happening without my tools!”  by Lauren Fiechtner, MD Is it fair to fine parents if their child with obesity does not lose weight? Lawmakers in Puerto Rico have proposed a bill that would do just that. Under the proposed bill, teachers would identify children with obesity and refer them to a counselor who would develop a diet and exercise plan. If the child does not lose weight in 6 months, the families would be fined $500. If in a year success still eludes, then the fines could increase to $800.
 by Emily Oken, MD, MPH Asthma and obesity are the two most common chronic health conditions affecting both children and adults. The most recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that about 1 in every 6 US children are obese (17%), and almost 1 of every 7 (14%) will develop asthma by age 18. Both obesity and asthma are on the rise. Could these two conditions be connected?
 by Wei Perng, PhD For Christmas this year, I bought my parents a full-spectrum phototherapy lamp. As natives of Taiwan, an East Asian country with a subtropical climate and nearly year-round sunshine, my parents now suffer Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), aka the “winter blues,” due to Michigan’s long dreary winters. Although the idea of sitting in front of a light as an alternative to real sunshine seems strange to me, several of my friends and colleagues highly recommended a lamp to help relieve SAD symptoms. I figured, why not. My parents loved it. In fact, they were so enthusiastic that they bought one for me as well! Although I have not yet conjured up the self-discipline to put in my half-hour in front of the lamp every morning, I have been reading the book that came with it: Winter Blues: Everything You Need to Know to Beat Seasonal Affective Disorder by Norman E. Rosenthal, MD. I skimmed through the science behind how light therapy provides very specific types of illumination to the retina to influence hormones that regulate of sleep and mood patterns. What does this have to do with obesity and obesity prevention?
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