The shift from chatbots as information systems to chatbots as relational systems is not a marginal technical change, writes Helen A. Hayes. It creates a governance rupture that existing frameworks are struggling to name, let alone address, she writes.

Physical activity and the reduction of all-cause mortality, from 2 very large prospective cohorts 1. The relationship is non-linear, suggesting a threshold effect for many types of exercise as seen below

Renowned nutritionist @marionnestle.bsky.social has mixed feelings on the nation's new dietary guidelines. She talks protein, whole grains, and expanding access to healthy foods on Public Health On Call. 🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/998-marion-n...

Just how affordable are the new dietary guidelines? Food economists and nutrition experts weigh in on whether, and how, Rollins' claims of a $3 meal hold up: www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/a...

bonkers story

Just 5 extra minutes per day of walking at an average speed is linked to a 10% reduction in deaths, from a meta-analysis of 135,000 participants in 7 cohorts (Norway, Sweden, and the US) New @thelancet.com thelancet.com/journals/lan...

What a smart design critique of the new food pyramid from an SVA prof: "Its flattened forms and folksy simplicity evoke an imagined past in which food, and by extension health, was uncomplicated and governed by common sense rather than expertise." www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/n...

Honored to contribute to Pete Wells' series on home cooking and health. Changing your food environment is the first and most important change you can make for yourself. Read his story in The New York Times: https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/pete-wells-kitchen-health-cooking

“We’ve learned exactly how the built environment shapes behavior. Now it’s time to put that knowledge to work — because every mile we walk instead of driving matters.” - @ucsandiego.bsky.social professor Larry Frank. (h/t @usa.streetsblog.org) www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/electri...

another trenchant post in @marionnestle.bsky.social's excellent series on the new dietary guidelines

results of a Cochrane review ... www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...

powerful and clear from @marionnestle.bsky.social: "If the government leaves it to you to 'do your own research' and fight the food system on your own, it is saying it has no responsibility for creating a food environment that can help you eat and enjoy real food. It’s all on you."

good summery of the new dietary guidelines ...

A Washington Post article suggests that, beyond a certain threshold, larger homes don't make people happier. Instead, well-being is correlated with affordable housing in walkable neighborhoods where they feel socially connected. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Yes! This is the 1st new & essential pcast series of 2026 -- @thgoetz.bsky.social brings a remarkable combination of insight, wisdom, perspective, and humanity to all of his work (I also really enjoyed his book, the Remedy, from 2014 -> www.aei.org/articles/mic...). @dereklowe.bsky.social

For our first newsletter of the year, co-founder @thgoetz.bsky.social introduces his new podcast, Drug Story, that explores the state of health in the US and how we got here -- one blockbuster drug at a time: mailchi.mp/9729a35a1ac4...

great interactive on the data -- which are consistently positive

“Americans are increasingly hungry for Italian piazzas, Spanish plazas, French places, & similar squares around the globe. But the joy of experiencing life in these public squares leaves some travelers disappointed when they return to the States.” Don’t let ANYONE tell you it HAS to be that way.

Among our most-read in 2025 ⤵️ Ultra-processed foods – what’s the impact? In a Lancet Series, experts warn a global rise in #UPFs presents a growing public health threat. Read the evidence & policy recommendations ⬇️ spkl.io/63323AYDz7

In this week’s Optimizer, I buy an experimental “GLP-3” drug off the gray market after five minutes on TikTok. The Wellness Wild West is unregulated and people are turning themselves into guinea pigs with unapproved weight loss drugs. www.theverge.com/column/84640...

Natural daylight and improved glucose control in Type 2 diabetes cell.com/cell-metabol...

Chipotle just unveiled a new High Protein Menu, and it's designed for the Ozempic era. f-st.co/liqG4gH

An astonishing percentage of Americans are open to car-free living. The problem isn't attitudes. The problem is the failure to invest in viable options. humantransit.org/2025/12/many...

One surprising piece of research I found when writing the book was that while the number of kids biking & walking to school has dropped by a lot since 1969, the number of kids living within a mile of their school has only gone down by about 15%.

Your favorite public health podcast from @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social is now on Instagram 🎙 Public Health On Call is a guide through the fascinating world of public health. Follow us on Instagram at @publichealthpod to see exclusive content from the show. 🔗 www.instagram.com/publichealth...

NEW: A report found that a significant number of kids and teens are using AI companions. More striking: themes of violence — which can include sexual violence — drove more engagement among young users than any other type of content, according to the report. futurism.com/artificial-i...

Manhattan air pollution dips after congestion pricing takes effect www.semafor.com/article/12/1...

Significant findings from a new report on the state of social connection by @social-connection.bsky.social: socialconnectioninamerica.org/2025-report/

This week, Australia became the first country to ban children aged under 16 from using most social media platforms go.nature.com/4pXa8Je

Awear won the Battlefield 200 health stage pitch competition at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.

This is good. open.substack.com/pub/drjessic...

Here we go: www.theverge.com/transportati...

There's a King Midas aspect to motor vehicles. The Midas touch was great until he wanted to eat or drink or just hug his daughter. My latest in @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91443440/ame...

Join us, @cityhealth.bsky.social, National Association of Counties, and @apha.org for new, research-based findings on communicating with policymakers about health — and make your interactions more productive. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lSgjN8KWQ_6-9DhMamNE1Q#/registration

Amen. This is why we exist.

great to see this work

Semaglutide (Ozempic) failed to have clinical impact for slowing progression in people with mild Alzheimer’s disease in 2 large, placebo-controlled trials novonordisk.com/content/nnco...

In a Q&A with @lisaelaineh.bsky.social, @marionnestle.bsky.social discusses what went into developing her latest book, “What to Eat Now,” how the grocery industry has changed over the past 20 years, and why she hopes MAHA moms will read it.

With the news on ultraprocessed foods this week, it's worth going back to this excellent explainer, from @alicecallahan.bsky.social, on how we got to where we are today: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NEW: A risk assessment found that leading general-use chatbots — ChatGPT, Gemini, Meta AI, and Claude — are "fundamentally unsafe" for teen mental health support, failing to catch important red flags and responding inappropriately to users exhibiting signs of crisis. futurism.com/artificial-i...

At the launch of the @thelancet.com series on ultraprocessed foods, the speakers are making it crystal clear: the economic engine we use to produce the food system is hopelessly -- and dangerously -- at odds with societal goals for people’s health and the environment.

Out today: The Lancet series on ultra-processed foods Today, the Lancet publishes three major papers on ultra-processed foods and human health: science, policy, and politics (I am a co-author on the policy and politics papers).  Here's Peter Bond's photo, the logo for the series. THE PAPERS I. …

Editorial about the ultraprocessed food oligopoly putting profit before health www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Smells like car bloat: "More than 3,800 people were killed almost immediately when they were struck in 2023, an indication that high speeds and larger vehicles are making impacts more violent. The rate at which pedestrians are declared dead at the scene of the crash has more than doubled."

thread

In a series of new analyses, a global group of nutritionists, health and policy experts call on governments to treat ultra-processed foods (UPFs) like cigarettes and, finally do something. medium.com/wise-well/ur... #food #health #nutrition

The 2025 Copenhagenize Index shows which cities have done the most—from redesigning streets to growing bike share systems and building bike storage—to make it easy to get around on two wheels. f-st.co/2PhVnuD

For @fastcompany.com I looked at a movement to turn suburban backyards and planned communities into biodiversity hubs, and how a megadevelopers sees protected lakes and oak trees as a sales pitch for a more sustainable suburbia www.fastcompany.com/91442530/sun...