Dr. Gunter, I am a postmenopausal 63-year-old woman. I am wondering if the fate of all women my age and older is to wear pads for leakage. I understand your specialty is gynecology and not urology but thought you could weigh in on any advances in this area as the two specialties are related.

Gail Barraco, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

[Have a question about womens health? Ask Dr. Gunter yourself.]

Urinary incontinence is a common and distressing problem for many women. While the rate of incontinence increases with age, there are many therapies available to reduce leakage and improve your quality of life.

Urinary incontinence, the involuntary leakage of urine, affects women of all ages. Approximately 25 percent of young women, 50 percent of middle-aged women and 75 percent of older women have some degree of urinary incontinence.

There are two main types of urinary incontinence:

Stress urinary incontinence The loss of urine with physical activity, coughing or sneezing

Overactive bladder Also known as urgency incontinence, this is the strong, sudden urge to empty the bladder with or without leaking urine. (Basically, when you have to go you have to go. Now.) Many women with overactive bladder have to get up multiple times each night to empty their bladder.

Women can also have mixed incontinence, which is both stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder.

Women with urinary incontinence often do not seek medical care. Some women are not bothered by their symptoms, others feel ashamed, some have been brushed off by health care providers, led to believe there are no therapies, or they have been offered only a limited range of treatment options.

There are many therapies for incontinence, from bladder training, pelvic floor exercises, pessaries, medications, injections and surgeries. Making a recommendation for specific therapy without a medical history isnt possible. However, there are some incontinence basics that everyone should know to help them get started.

Wear incontinence pads, not menstrual pads. Choosing the right protection matters. A menstrual pad (or period underwear) is likely to keep urine next to the skin, which can cause irritation, itching and even skin breakdown.

Try pelvic floor muscle exercises, also known as Kegel exercises. Some women can learn to do them on their own and others may need help from a pelvic floor physical therapist. These exercises can help both stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder. Kegel exercises include: sustained contractions (holding the squeeze or contraction with a goal of working up to 10 seconds) and quick flicks, which are a simple contraction and release taking 1 to 2 seconds. For women with overactive bladder, doing a set of five quick flicks as soon as the urge to empty is felt can relax the bladder, giving time to get to the toilet without leaking.

See a provider and get a diagnosis. Many gynecologists, urologists and primary care providers are very knowledgeable about urinary incontinence, but a urogynocologist may be needed for anyone having difficulty getting help and for those with more challenging incontinence issues.

Women have told me that when they brought up their incontinence to previous providers, they were told it was a normal part of aging and the conversation ended quickly with the implication that it was something to be tolerated. It isnt just medicine that treats incontinence as shameful; our society does as well. Imagine if we treated everyone who needed glasses with shame and told them their visual impairment was something they had to live with.

Dr. Jen Gunter, often called Twitters resident gynecologist, is teaming up with our editors to answer your questions about all things womens health. From whats normal for your anatomy to healthy sex and clearing up the truth behind strange wellness claims, Dr. Gunter, who also writes a column called The Cycle, promises to handle your questions with respect, forthrightness and honesty.

Continue reading here:
Is Incontinence Inevitable? - The New York Times

On the whole, its a more progressive world in which we live when it comes to body positivity. While truly loving ones own body image is, for most of us, a lifelong journey of ups and downs, there seems to be more space than ever before to accept ourselves as we come sort of.

As we track and celebrate the bo-po movement and body-neutrality push, we also cant deny that non-invasive and surgical procedures to modify our appearance are more in demand than ever. According to The International Medical Travel Journal, the UK cosmetic surgery market was estimated at around 273m in 2018, with non-invasive cosmetic treatments predicted to exceed 3 billion over the next five years. Its ignorant to believe that the bo-po movement has left us all satisfied with our natural bodies and shapes. At Dazed Beauty we like to confront, examine, and celebrate both ends of the needle, from natural to surgically enhanced (and everything in between); when it comes to divisive conversations around body image we believe in your body your choice.

Whether we like it or not, fat reduction procedures notably on the increase. Enter CoolSculpting, an FDA approved non-invasive treatment thats shaking up the non-invasive cosmetics industry. With minimal downtime, and little to no discomfort its being spoken off as the lunch-break alternative to liposuction. Areas that can be treated include; the chin, upper and lower abdomen, male chest, bra and back fat, flanks, inner and outer thighs, knees, and calves. You only need one treatment (a rare thing) and the results are permanent unless of course, you put on a considerable amount of weight in which case the fat may not return to those areas but will evenly distribute. Results, as always are dependent on a number of factors such as age, medical history and lifestyle, but its clear to see why the treatment is so popular.

We headed down toThe Cavendish Clinic in South Kensington, who have overseen 10,000+ CoolSculpt procedures, to trial the treatment, ask all the questions and give you our verdict.

At The Cavendish Clinic, which is pristine, Im greeted by Joelle, and her fellow technician Gaila. Both Joelle and Gaila are keen to stress that the treatment is on offer because of the incredible results, minimal downtime, and also because of the sheer demand. Both are super informed, professional, and welcoming I feel in very safe hands. I ask what kind of people are seeking the treatment out. It really varies but often its people who cant shift a small bit of weight and this procedure means they can explains Joelle. Treatments like this work best when paired with a healthy lifestyle and exercise. Its not about a shortcut to being thin its about balancing procedures like this out with an active life. Its fine-tuning, its not a radical overhaul of the way someone looks.

Its evident that at the clinic theyre not interested in promoting one idea of what a good body looks like. We treat people of all sizes and well turn people away if theyre not good candidates for the procedure, says Joelle. You have to have enough fat in any one area for it to be effective. I undress and pop on a fetching pair of paper shorts and bra. Part of the prep is to be weighed-in and photographed. I put them to the test, and ask to have my upper arms treated as well as my stomach. They flat out refuse to do my arms but agree the treatment should work on my flanks and tummy area. In my experience, its always a good sign when a practitioner refuses to treat candidates it shows discretion and professionalism, something thats becoming increasingly scarce in the land of lunchtime tweakments.

Im asked to fill out the usual kinds of consent forms and begin to ask what to expect. The room looks like any other boujie treatment room in a spa, bar the presence on the giant cool sculpt machine that has large tentacle-style suction applicators. Im told that two suction pads will be applied to two areas at a time for the duration of 35 minutes each. All in all, Ill be there for two hours. I ask what it will feel like. The pads will grab onto your body, and create a vacuum, Gaila explains, youll then start to feel an icy sensation as the targeted fat cells in the body start to cool down and start the process of a natural, controlled elimination of fat cells she smiles. Will it hurt? I ask. Most people only complain about the bit when you take the applicator off and we have to massage the frozen area. I pull a worried face. Its not that bad I promise and we have chocolate and Netflix. I feel reassured. I ask about the downtime. No exercise for 48 hours and the areas will feel numb for three weeks or so. You may also feel an itching sensation, but that will not last. Finally, I ask about the promise of permanent fat removal in one treatment which sounds bonkers. Joelle doesnt miss a beat Yep. The treated fat cells are gone for good. Youll start to see a change after around three months. Adding exercise into your routine is a good way to speed up the process too she adds but if you put on weight again, you may see fat build up in those areas again.

I feel confident about beginning the procedure, but mainly just really curious. Gel, and then applicators, are applied one by one to areas on my abdomen. Im sat remote control in hand, under a set of duvets. The sensation is bizarre, first a sucking as the applicator glues itself to your body. Then the freezing begins, which sort of feels like stomach cramp (hence the chocolates that are there to alleviate any nausea) but the tummy-churning weirdness quickly fades off into numbness. I quickly zone out and start to focus on Netflix, making calls and sending emails. Im actually on a call when Gaila comes in and releases one of the nozzles from my stomach and starts to massage what feels like an icy lump in my lower stomach. It is not a pleasant feeling. As she needs my stomach proficiently I feel slightly sick, it feels as though I can feel the flesh gnawing with every pinch, but its over quickly. By the time the fourth nozzle is removed, Im used to the discomfort.

Two hours later I emerge a little swollen and quite red, but otherwise relaxed. Im told the swelling will last a week or two. Joelle tells me I can text her whenever I like, and that Im not to take paracetamol or anything that reduces the swelling the swelling is good and proof its working. When I get home I undress and examine my little bowling ball of a tummy. The next week or so I find myself scratching my stomach every now and then to confirm that, yes, Im still completely numb. Its weird but not as odd as being swollen for the next ten days, which makes wearing my old jeans pretty impossible.

Three weeks later I feel completely back to normal. Im worried as its been an extremely sedentary period (Christmas) and I cant see any changes but I mentally mark three months time in my diary.

With prices starting from 450 and a single cycle for the belly being 600 a session its an expensive treatment and its also not for the impatient, but... it works. My stomach is flatter, and my waistline more defined (two were attached to my lower back/waistline as a means of sculpting the waist). Im more happy with how contoured my waist looks than I anticipated. I quite like my little pouch (I think theyre sexy) but didnt anticipate how much more feminine my silhouette could look. I look more hourglass, like Ive had a waist trainer on, which is definitely a bonus, not necessarily slimmer but my jeans feel nicely looser and my waist looks neat. Im not a dieter or a gym bunny, but the results have inspired me to be more active. Ive taken to heart what they said at The Cavendish about no shortcuts to a healthy body and the procedure was more an experiment than anything else, but its been a positive reminder to cherish the body I have, for bigger or smaller.

More here:
WTF is cool sculpting and does it work? - Dazed

Two of the new 2020 decade's hottest trends are cannabis (CBD) and intermittent fasting (IF). While both are health-centric in nature, many wonder can you smoke marijuana or use CBD when adhering to an intermittent fasting diet plan.

Let's review if the medicinal plant's use can safely, effectively and legitimately be consumed while practicing the IF diet where the saying goes, the less you eat, the longer you live, the more you get to eat.'

Intermittent fasting is one of the diets that is presently gaining traction in the health industry, used for losing weight, promoting balance in blood sugar levels and overall just allowing the body's digestive system to rest and recharge by cycling between periods of fasting and eating.

Google Search Trends 2020 data on Intermittent Fasting and Cannabis

As you can see via Google Search trends analytics, intermittent fasting and cannabis are both in-demand 2020 topics of interest as people are starting to seek the therapeutic benefits of each but the real question is people who consume CBD or smoke marijuana, can they do one another or both while practicing the intermittent diet regimen?

The IF diet is fairly easy to follow, as it requires the user to go through lengthy fasts that last through the majority of the day, which is upwards of 16 hours. The schedule that the user follows can be modified to meet their own daily demands, and the participant primarily can eat what they want.

With any diet, choosing healthier foods is obviously more encouraged for better results, but theres no specific rules to follow this. This type of dieting has also been frequently linked to the improvement in insulin sensitivity as well as increasing overall longevity and wellness.

The consumption of cannabis is primarily known for stimulating the appetite, improving relaxation, and even eradicating pain by using CBD oils or gummies. But could it positively impact the experience of intermittent fasting? Lets first discuss the intermittent fasting diet, what the requirements are, and why so many people have gravitated towards its use.

Many people wonder about using marijuana and it giving you the munchies' or increased appetite hunger cravings may be against the eat less' intermittent fasting diet, but first let's dive into what intermittent fasting is, the types of IF diets to follow and then answer the question head on whether or not cannabis (marijuana and CBD) is applicable for fasters.

Intermittent fasting may seem like an all-encompassing trend now, but the practice has been around for over a thousand years and is just now resurfacing as a hot diet trend. The practice for ancestors was seemingly involuntary, as the early humans had to seek out ways to find food every day and were not always successful. Over time, religious and cultural groups found ways to employ fasting for their own purposes, often as a sacrifice in return for spiritual or other rewards.

The fasting experienced in todays culture isnt that different, apart from the current branding it has amongst health-focused individuals. Health and weight loss are major topics of discussion in the modern world, and studies even show that close to 45 million Americans work to follow diets every year. The market for exercise and weight loss products is highly profitable, adding up to approximately $33 billion spent amongst consumers that want to shed weight, no matter how successful their willpower is.

Intermittent fasting, for many, isnt just a temporary decision or diet; it is a change from their previous lifestyle, and the modifications that can be made to accommodate any schedule make it easier to stick with diets. Most commonly, consumers will follow one of three different fasting methods, the 18/6, the 16/8, or the Eat-Stop-Eat.

In the 18/6 plan, the individual abstains from eating for 18 hours, allowing themselves a matter of six hours to get all of the nutrients that they need in a day. The same rule applies for the 16/8 plan, except that the participant fasts for 16 hours with 8 hours left to consume all their daily nutrients. Most of the time, these first two plans basically cut out snacks at bedtime and end up skipping or pushing back breakfast until it is in the non-fasting part of the day.

The Eat-Stop-Eat method is a big more extreme. The participant is required to abstain from everything but calorie-free liquids for a full 24 hours. After the day is over, the user can eat with no limits for a whole day, but they repeat the fasting again on day 3. With this method, consumers often see the best results, as they preserve their lean muscle mass and improve hormone levels.

There is also the 12/12 split where you can ease into the Intermittent Fasting diet schedule and have a larger window per day for consuming foods and eating meals. Another intermittent fasting name is OMAD, or one meal a day where it is probably the most extreme version of IF dieting where you fast for 23 hours and eat just one meal every 24 hours. Also one other popular method of fasting intermittently is the 5:2 system where you eat normally for five days while essentially taking two days off from eating or very limited food intake.

The whole advocacy for this type of diet is due to the way that the bodys metabolism works. According to information from medical publications, after 16 hours without eating anything, the body automatically starts to use stored fat in place of glucose to improve weight loss. The body is put into a state of ketosis, much like when someone goes on the equally trendy ketogenic diet.

The other purported health benefits and wellness effects of doing the intermittent fasting diet include:

During ketosis, the body has to work to replace old cells and to repair damage to DNA. Thats where CBD and cannabis comes in.

One of the most common effects that consumers associated with cannabis use is the munchies, which is due to the stimulation of the appetite while consuming THC. For that reason alone, getting the stoned effects of THC may seem counterproductive to the fasting process. However, dont be quick to shut down the use of cannabis compounds, as there are a few that could actually help.

The compound in cannabis that many consumers are also familiar with is CBD, and reports from CBD Clinicals state that the substance is able to reduce the appetite, making it helpful to fasting. It also is linked to the prevention of diabetes and fighting inflammation in the body. Plus, since consuming snacks while anxiety or nervous is fairly common, CBD is capable of helping to curb this type of emotional eating with its relaxing effects.

Still, there are other compounds in cannabis that may prove to ultimately be helpful, when it comes to intermittent fasting. Tetrahydrocannabivarin, or THCV, is found in cannabis in small quantities and is primarily lauded as a suppressant for the appetite. It works in an opposite capacity to THC, which means that it can help consumers not to worry about the pangs of hunger that often begin during this type of regimen. Unfortunately, THCV has not yet reached the market, so consumers would be left simply with using CBD for now.

While CBD may not be good for the fasting moments in this type of diet, THC could still be alternated during the hours that the user is eating instead. With healthy meals, consumers may need to make certain foods more palatable, and THC can serve its purpose. Realistically, when it comes to cannabis use during an intermittent fasting diet, the key to success lies in using THC and CBD at the right times.

On the opposite side of the cannabis discussion, a different question may arise. Rather than using cannabis to promote greater success in a fasting diet, can a fasting diet be used to push out THC? To answer this question, it is important to understand the way that THC works in the body.

THC can be consumed as either an edible product or an inhalable one, and each practice has a different reaction in the body. When smoking, THC is absorbed into the bloodstream through the lungs, reaching the heart before it is pumped through the entire body. It takes about 15 minutes for the psychoactive molecule to peak, while the non-psychoactive molecule can last for up to 7 days.

When ingesting THC, the bloodstream absorbs the THC through the stomach and intestines, which then filters through the liver for it to be metabolized before binding with any of the receptors in the endocannabinoid system. Then, it takes the same path as with smoking; heads to the heart and is pumped through the body.

Intermittent fasting is designed to promote weight loss, pushing the body to use the stored fat for energy and glucose. THC is fat soluble, leading it to be absorbed rapidly by the fat tissue after entering the bloodstream. Users with more fat on their body will store more THC. While the speed of the metabolism determines how quickly THC may exit the body, intermittent fasting on a regular basis can increase the speed of the metabolism.

Based on the correlation between a higher metabolism and how quickly THC is flushed from the body, intermittent fasting theoretically could help the body to flush out THC sooner, albeit indirectly. However, a study in 2014 tested out this theory with the following results:

Neither exercise at moderate intensity for 45 min. nor 24-hr. food deprivation caused significant elevations in blood or urine cannabinoid levels in our six human subjects. [] We conclude that exercise and fasting in regular cannabis users are unlikely to cause sufficient concentration changes to hamper interpretation in drug testing programmes.

When it comes to smoking marijuana and using cannabis-infused products during an intermittent fasting diet, the question shouldnt be of whether it helps a diet, because there are too many compounds to offer a single answer. Most simply, the answer is that cannabis use may help, depending on the compounds and when they are used. Successful dieters may choose CBD use during the fasting hours and THC during the eating hours, but there is not enough testing on this type of application to say with certainty.

While the safe bet is to answer the question of whether or not cannabis and intermittent fasting work together in 2020 and beyond is that it depends on the user (as with anything), but the truth is it will always come down to tolerance, discipline and personal goals. Whether you smoke marijuana or use CBD oil-infused supplements and adhere to the intermittent fasting diet plan, both of these in-demand trends are serving up a much-needed fresh perspective on what it takes to be healthy in the new decade.

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Intermittent Fasting with Cannabis: Can You Use CBD and Marijuana on the IF Diet Plan? - HealthMJ

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the pressure inside a persons arteries is higher than it should be. Symptoms are rarely noticeable, which is why its important to regularly check your reading.

And its important to what you can to prevent the condition or lower your reading, because left untreated, serious problems like heart disease, stroke and kidney disease can occur.

Certain foods can raise blood pressure, such as eating too much salt.

But just as there are foods and drinks that increase blood pressure, there are some found to reduce it.

One drink proven to control a persons blood pressure reading is nettle tea.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: Avoid eating this food if you want to lower your reading

Stinging nettles have been a staple in herbal medicine for centuries, with the ancient Egyptians using stinging nettle to treat arthritis and lower back pain.

While their hair-like structures sting and cause itchiness and swelling, once nettles have been processed into a supplement, dried or cooked, they can be safely consumed.

One of stinging nettles benefits, traditionally, is to treat high blood pressure.

Animal and test-tube studies have shown it may help lower blood pressure in several ways.

DON'T MISS

As well as being enjoyed in tea, stinging nettle is available dried or freeze dries, as capsules and in tinctures and creams.

Nettle leaves, stems and roots can also be cooked and added to soups, stews and smoothies.

When it comes to diet, the NHS recommends cutting down on the amount of salt in food and eating plenty of fruit and vegetables.

The health body explains: Salt raises your blood pressure. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure. Aim to eat less than 6g (0.2oz) of salt a day, which is about a teaspoonful.

Eating a low-fat diet that includes lots of fibre, such as wholegrain rice, bread and pasta, and plenty of fruit and vegetables also helps lower blood pressure.

Aim to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day.

Being active and taking regular exercise can also lower blood pressure by keeping the heart and blood vessels in good condition.

The health body adds: Regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which will also help lower your blood pressure.

Adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

Physical activity can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.

Limiting alcohol intake, losing weight, cutting down on caffeine and stopping smoking can also have a positive impact on blood pressure.

Read more from the original source:
High blood pressure: Adding this shrub to your tea could lower your reading - Express

A pet dog thought to be dying of cancer after a mass was found in her stomach had actually eaten more than 300 hair bobbles.

Alison Parker rushed her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lottie to the vet after she started vomiting and vets found a mass in her stomach.

Fearing it was cancer they performed an emergency operation and were astonished to discover approximately 300 hair ties.

Cheeky Lottie had been secretly stealing bobbles belonging to 48-year-old Alison and her two teenage daughters.

The surgeon filled plastic bags with the black elastics it is thought Lottie had been gobbling down since she joined the family in March 2015.

Lottie is now safely back home and the family from Accrington, Lancs, are more vigilant when it comes to hiding away their hair ties.

School teacher Alison, who forked out 2,800 for Lottie's treatment, said: "I couldn't believe it when the vet rang me to say what they'd found.

"I've got two teenage girls and all three of us have long hair so wear hair bobbles all the time - luckily, my husband is bald or it could have been even more!

"If you dropped a hair bobble, Lottie would chase after it but if we ever saw her do that, we'd quickly grab it and get it out of her mouth.

"Of course I knew there was a chance she'd have swallowed one without us looking, but to see the bags full of hair bobbles that the vet had removed was just astonishing!"

Alison was shopping after work on December 20, 2019, when she got a phone call from one of her daughters at home to say Lottie was unwell.

She rushed home to find her precious pooch vomiting violently and after monitoring her through the night, Alison rushed Lottie to the local vet.

Lottie was lethargic and her oxygen levels had dropped while her heart rate increased to an alarming rate.

Examining her stomach, the vet found a large lump and Lottie needed to go to the animal hospital to find out what it was.

Alison said: "We were all terrified - we thought Lottie had cancer.

"We took her to the hospital but they had to try and help her recover before doing the scan as she was so unwell that she could have died if they'd sedated her at that point.

"An X-ray confirmed it was a foreign mass, and by this point I'd spent 800, so the vet asked if we wanted to go for the surgery which would cost more or put Lottie down.

"The surgery would cost another 2,000 and we didn't even know if she'd survive but Lottie isn't just a pet, she's our family, so out came the credit card immediately."

Lottie underwent surgery at 11.30pm on December 21 while Alison and her family waited nervously at home for updates.

It was in the early hours of the next day that they got a call to say the vet had found hundreds of hair bobbles inside her stomach.

Lottie was so intensively damaged that her stomach needed to be repaired in three different places and they had caused damage to her intestines.

Alison collected Lottie on December 23 and couldn't believe the number of hair bobbles that the vet had found inside her poor puppy.

Alison said: "The vet had saved the bag to show me - there were hundreds of hair bobbles, both thick ones and thin ones and some with little metal clasps.

"We'd been told about six months before that Lottie needed to lose weight as she had a heart murmur, but dieting and more walks didn't seem to help her lose any weight.

"It was obviously because all these bobbles were taking up loads of space and filling out her stomach, and with them removed, she looked as skinny as a greyhound!

"She's now home, doing really well and eating me out of house and home - it's so scary to think she could have died.

"I'm just so pleased she's ok, we all are and everybody is being more vigilant with making sure no hair bobbles end up on the floor and hurting our lovely girl again!"

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Mass feared to be cancer in dog's stomach turned out to be 300 hair bobbles - Mirror Online

After a four-year hiatus, NBC's weight-loss reality show "The Biggest Loser" is back. Beginning January 28, a new 10-episode season of the series will show 12 contestants facing off to see who can lose the most weight for a cash prize.

The 30-week competition kicks off with a weigh-in to determine each contestant's starting weight. Then, the participants are divided into two teams, with red and blue uniforms. During the course of each episode, contestants participate in a variety of weight-loss activities, including a timed one-mile race, group therapy, and lessons on nutrition and food preparation.

Along the way, viewers learn more about each participant, including their background, personal life, and motivations for being on the show. For example, PhiXavier Holmes ("Phi") is a school counselor in Washington D.C., who began using food to cope when her father passed away, according to her bio on the show's website.

Domenico ("Dom") Brugellis is a dad, former chef, and food manager with the New York City Department of Education who's "finally ready to find balance between his love of the Italian food he grew up with and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle," according to the website.

At the end of each episode, one contestant is sent home, based on which team lost the most collective weight, as a percentage, relative to their starting weight. The person who lost the least weight on the losing team must leave.

Previous seasons of the show faced backlash and criticism for its premise which experts have said is fat-shaming and harmful as well as for the reported health problems suffered by former participants.

A 2016 study, published after the then-finale of the show, looked at 14 former contestants over six years, finding that nearly all of them regained weight after the show and experienced problems with their hormones and metabolism. Those issues were proportional to how quickly the participants lost a large amount of weight, researchers found.

Some of those former contestants have spoken up themselves. Ryan Benson, winner of the 2005 season of series, started his own show to address the ongoing issues he's faced since then, including regaining the weight and then some. Bernie Salazar is a frequent guest on registered dietitian Rebecca Scritchfield's "Body Kindness" podcast, where he discusses his journey from having disordered eating behaviors and body image problems to embracing that "his true, happy and healthy self was always meant to have a fat body."

Experts have also said that the rapid pace of weight loss depicted in The Biggest Loser is up to seven times more than what is safely recommended. Contestants are shown losing as much as one to two pounds per day (or more), compared with the usual one to two pounds per week typically suggested for safe, sustainable weight loss, Insider previously reported.

According to the official description on the USA Network website, the new series will be a "360-degree view of what it takes to make a serious lifestyle change, rather than focus solely on weight loss."

Press materials also note that contestants will be working to address what brought them to the show in the first place, including any physical, emotional, or social issues in their lives.

"Skinny does not always equate to being healthy," host Bob Harper told the Washington Post. "This is about getting these contestants on the right course to living healthier lives physically and mentally."

The reboot is also reportedly taking extra precautions to make sure contestants are medically safe, including by enlisting nutritionists to create individualized meal plans, trainers to vet each workout, and keeping doctors on set to monitor contestants' vitals.

But some experts are skeptical that the show has really improved, including Scritchfield, who's also author of "Body Kindness," a book about developing healthy habits and a positive body image without dieting.

While the changes to the show do reflect that our culture has become more body-positive, she said, the new version's so-called holistic approach is just lip service, as long as the scales and money continue to be involved. "The best change they could make is to not air a weight loss show, period," Scritchfield told Insider.

Read more:

Adele's beach vacation photos have gone viral, but some say complimenting her smaller body is fat-phobic

10 diet myths overturned in the past decade, from 'fat makes you fat' to 'supplements are harmless'

People eat less when food labels show how much exercise is needed to burn it off, but that could have dangerous consequences

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'The Biggest Loser' is coming back. Here's what you need to know about the controversial weight-loss show. - INSIDER

Designed by physicians for physicians, New Direction Advanced provides doctors with the tools to effectively treat obesity in their patients.

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., Jan. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robard Corporation, a leading provider of medical weight loss programs and products to the health care industry for more than 40 years, has announced the launch of its latest scientifically-designed obesity treatment program, New Direction Advanced.

Joining other Robard brands including NutriMed and Advanced Health Systems, New Direction Advanced is a medically-supervised obesity treatment program used by physicians, surgeons and hospitals across the United States to treat patients living with obesity. The program employs patient behavior modification, comprehensive medical protocols and scientifically designed nutritional products to safely facilitate weight loss in patients with obesity and related chronic conditions.

Developed in collaboration with leading physicians on the frontlines of obesity treatment, New Direction Advanced is the result of a comprehensive review of recent academic research, expanding on Robards longstanding commitment to developing modern approaches for safe, effective, and evidence-based obesity treatment without the use of drugs. Meal replacement products, which are utilized extensively as part of the program, employ synergistic ingredients which help promote optimal metabolism for active weight loss, and help support patients to lose as much as 36 pounds in 12 weeks on a medically monitored Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD).

After 20 years of outstanding patient experience with Robard New Direction meal replacements in my clinics, I am excited to implement the Advanced formulation, says Dr. John Hernried, MD, FACP, President and Medical Director of the Hernried Center for Medical Weight Loss in Sacramento, CA. They took the input of physicians and developed a product that has led to enhancedsatiety, increased nutritional ketosis and overall better outcomes.With all this, they managed to maintain the excellent taste of the multiple flavors which is a key element in offering a VLCD to my patients with obesity.

Obesity has been officially recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association, and since then the treatment of obesity has become a public health imperative. Currently more than one in three American adults is living with obesity, a chronic condition that affects about 93.3 million US adults.

For more than three years, Robards food scientists and research team conducted a comprehensive scientific review to determine the most effective combination of weight loss and weight management ingredients, says Robard Vice President of Sales, Mario Testa. We aggregated this data to determine the efficacy of each ingredient and how those ingredients would synergistically help deliver the best nutritionally based products for weight loss. This research resulted in Robards new premium product line, New Direction Advanced, one of the most scientifically advanced products available for medically supervised weight management.

New Direction Advanced goes far beyond the typical program that promises quick, but short-lived weight loss, says Dr. Phillip Snider, a bariatric physician at the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, PA. The innovative protein composition profile coupled with Robards comprehensive education curriculum, guidelines for medical management and wide variety of patient support materials put this program in a class of its own.

About Robard Corporation:

Robard Corporation provides health care professionals and hospitals nationwide with a turnkey solution to operate their own medically-supervised obesity treatment program. Respected as leaders in the weight loss and management industry for more than 40 years, Robards evidence-based programs are complimented by scientifically-designed nutrition products and best-in-class business services to help physicians, surgeons and hospitals treat mildly overweight to morbidly obese patients. For more information on New Direction Advanced and Robard Corporation, please visit http://www.Robard.com.

Contact: Mario TestaCompany: Robard CorporationTel: (800) 222-9201Email: mtesta@robard.comwww.Robard.com

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New State of the Science Medical Program Targets the Obesity Epidemic - Yahoo Finance