Clinical RD. Interests in nutrition & physiology, SDoH, neurodiversity, the complexity of obesity, creating a culture of health, but mostly here to read..
Not all fat is equal — and in HFpEF, the type and location of fat may matter more than total body weight.
New framework from Packer et al. lays out how to actually measure dysfunctional fat — from clinic to imaging to molecular markers 👇
📊 Measuring Dysfunctional Fat in HFpEF:
🔹 Waist-to-height ratio → reasonable proxy for visceral adipose tissue mass (bedside)
🔹 DXA, CT or MRI abdominal imaging → estimates excess mesenteric fat depot (imaging)
🔹 Tissue-specific adiposity imaging (cardiac) → quantifies paracardiac fat with paracrine effects on the myocardium (imaging)
🔹 Adipose inflammation / circulating adipokine ratios → quantifies truly dysfunctional fat — not just excess fat (advanced)
💡 Key distinction: dysfunctional fat ≠ excess fat. Inflamed adipose tissue secretes pro-inflammatory adipokines that directly impair cardiac mechanics — even in patients who aren’t severely obese by BMI alone.
📄 Packer M, et al. JACC Heart Fail. 2026;10.1016/j.jchf.2026.103046
#HFpEF #HeartFailure #Cardiology #Obesity #Adipokines #CardioMet
New Research: Adipose tissue distribution in metabolic disease: depot-specific biology, clinical assessment, and therapeutic remodeling https://t.co/6malpbVWok #FrontiersIn#Endocrinology
Our paper in print now
🎯 Obesity + Multiple long term conditions (MLTC, multimorbidity): Is weight loss always beneficial?
📊 Study of 618,000+ patients with obesity & ≥2 conditions
⚖️ Key findings:
🟢 Weight loss → ↓ risk of new obesity-related complications
💊 Weight loss → ↓ polypharmacy
🔴 BUT…
⚠️ Both weight loss and weight gain → ↑ mental health conditions
🏥 ↑ hospitalisations
⚰️ ↑ mortality vs stable weight
📉 Effects were modest → not a simple “more weight loss = better outcomes”
🧠 Take-home:
👉 In MLTC, weight loss ≠ universally beneficial
👉 Outcomes are complex, bidirectional, and patient-specific
👉 We need personalised, holistic approaches — not weight alone
#Obesity #Multimorbidity #WeightLoss #ChronicDisease #PrecisionMedicine
with @AbdTahrani et al
https://t.co/edICQaR60S
Thank you @OntarioHealthOH OLMP, thank you @Dynacare, thank you @LifeLabs, thank you AlphaLabs, thank you @UofT, thank you to all members of ‘Raise the Bar’. This is a big step forward for Ontario and for 🇨🇦 Canada in promoting health equity for ppl with iron deficiency. 💥
Ontario's iron deficiency guidelines are changing; the baseline of what's considered a normal amount of iron is increasing. Dr. Michelle @sholzberg, hematologist & scientist at St. Michael's Hospital, has been advocating for this change for years.
https://t.co/RNtESY1YIf 1/3
This! Also, let’s see more acknowledgement of #timepoverty in discussion of health behaviours. Like other #SDoH, under-recognized in policy + public health initiatives yet a pervasive barrier/contributor to health status!
#cultureofhealth#obesity#weightstigma
Everywhere we turn the presumption that obesity is all about #PoorDiets smacks us in the face. But the truth is more complex. To focus only on food is to ignore most of what is at work, promoting ever more #obesity. #DiscomfortOfThought
https://t.co/m0AWKqBs0E
Dominant narratives of #autism remain stigmatizing and above all, unhelpful.
Understanding #monotropism can provide scaffolding to build non-deficit based insight on autism - Fergus Murray,
Scottish Autism Research Group Conference
2023
https://t.co/BXjCCFoMZj
This site was put together by Fergus Murray, with support from Wenn Lawson & Panda Mery. It is designed as a resource for anyone interested in learning about #monotropism, which should include everyone who wants to understand autistic people: https://t.co/5jqNayPmLH
When you become a parent, how do you nurture a positive body image in your child? At Holland Bloorview, we have developed a guide to help parents feel better prepared to talk to their child about body image and weight. Read more with @AmyCMcpherson, here: https://t.co/Lxsz5uUIpE
The first ever international clinical guidelines for lifestyle-based mental health care for major depressive disorder are out today! Developed by our @wfsbp_congress & @ASLMLifeMedGlobal Taskforce. (1/19)
Higher rates of #FoodInsecurity among working-age adults & children + fact that relying on any public income support, besides old-age pensions, means ⬆️ risk, highlights need to support working-age Cdns at the bottom end of the income spectrum.
🧵 on policy priorities (1/6)
[NEW PODCAST ALERT!]
Please help me welcome the deeply wise and introspective Dr. Vivek Murthy @vivek_murthy, 19th Surgeon General, bestselling author of TOGETHER, and Co-Chair of
@joebiden's COVID Task Force onto my podcast 3 Books.
Listen here:
https://t.co/XWga3siWQO
On the eve of Passover, Easter and soon Ramadan Toronto Physicians sing “We Rise Again”. We all need this message of hope!
Thx Voices Rock Medicine, Voices Rock Canada & Anthony Bastianon
#ThanksHealthHeroes#WeAreInThisTogether
https://t.co/zA9X0hHgkI
@Emily_J_RD @KCKlatt ERAS pathway,including CHO bev 2hrs pre-op,reduces post-op infections as well..agree w/ observation of pts not doing ERAS & eating little in days post-op can be hyperglycemic. Seems like the focus should be on post-op protocols for glycemic management.
https://t.co/iNKEKZ3zK4
In our new manuscript, we propose acceptance-based therapy, which integrates techniques from acceptance and commitment therapy, as a potential novel treatment option for diabetes management.
Coauthors @LeahWhigham@DrKathrynRoss@DonahooWm @JacksonRDillard
https://t.co/em2elFxpEe