Laura A. Schmidt PhD
@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social
I lead the UCSF Food Policy Lab, where we study ultraprocessed foods as a 21st-century vector of chronic disease.
I'm new to Bluesky--please follow!
I'm new to Bluesky--please follow!
Pinned
New GLP-1 drugs have the potential to change “the persistent, widespread cultural assumption that obesity is a problem of individuals rather than a societal problem of the food system.” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write:
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
issues.org
As more people experience an end to craving and "food noise" from taking GLP-1s, we may see a greater willingness to accept that #ultraprocessedfoods are addictive, like alcohol and tobacco.
“By keeping the focus on individual responsibility,” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write, the food and weight-loss industries “have created an atmosphere where policymakers have failed to implement even basic evidence-based obesity-prevention policies.”
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
issues.org
July 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Next step: Direct studies of the mechanisms. Is it the lack of fiber, a larger dose of sugar, slow transit time or chemical additives that make liquid sugar worse for health?
Evidence mounts that liquid sugars are worse than non-liquid sugars, according to research by BYU's Karen Della Corte. Article by Brian Marstroianni quotes
@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social www.health.com/drinking-sug...
@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social www.health.com/drinking-sug...
Drinking Sugar Could Be Worse For Your Health Than Eating It, New Study Suggests
Sugary drinks like soda may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes more than sweet foods, a new study found. Here's why it's worse to drink your sugar.
www.health.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Next step: Direct studies of the mechanisms. Is it the lack of fiber, a larger dose of sugar, slow transit time or chemical additives that make liquid sugar worse for health?
While ultraprocessed food companies pursue profits at the cost of making populations obese, pharmaceutical companies pursue profits with drugs promising to make the same people thin. Why not make money off both sides of the world's obesity crisis?
“When people do not eat healthfully, several industries profit—food, drug, and diet, for starters. Eating healthfully means taking on all of them.” @marionnestle.bsky.social responds to @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars’s essay on #GLP-1 drugs: issues.org/dysfunctiona...
Fixing a Dysfunctional Food System
The American food environment encourages people to consume ultra-processed food products rather than real food.
issues.org
July 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
While ultraprocessed food companies pursue profits at the cost of making populations obese, pharmaceutical companies pursue profits with drugs promising to make the same people thin. Why not make money off both sides of the world's obesity crisis?
I found the study discussed here to be quite compelling, with large samples from different regions of the world. The next step is to sort out why liquid sugar is worse for health: No fiber? Too easy to overconsume? Short transit time in the gut? Or all of the above?
Evidence mounts that liquid sugars are worse than non-liquid sugars, according to research by BYU's Karen Della Corte. Article by Brian Marstroianni quotes
@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social www.health.com/drinking-sug...
@drlauraschmidt.bsky.social www.health.com/drinking-sug...
Drinking Sugar Could Be Worse For Your Health Than Eating It, New Study Suggests
Sugary drinks like soda may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes more than sweet foods, a new study found. Here's why it's worse to drink your sugar.
www.health.com
July 11, 2025 at 8:55 PM
I found the study discussed here to be quite compelling, with large samples from different regions of the world. The next step is to sort out why liquid sugar is worse for health: No fiber? Too easy to overconsume? Short transit time in the gut? Or all of the above?
As more people experience an end to craving and "food noise" from taking GLP-1s, we may see a greater willingness to accept that #ultraprocessedfoods are addictive, like alcohol and tobacco.
New GLP-1 drugs have the potential to change “the persistent, widespread cultural assumption that obesity is a problem of individuals rather than a societal problem of the food system.” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write:
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
issues.org
May 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
As more people experience an end to craving and "food noise" from taking GLP-1s, we may see a greater willingness to accept that #ultraprocessedfoods are addictive, like alcohol and tobacco.
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
New GLP-1 drugs have the potential to change “the persistent, widespread cultural assumption that obesity is a problem of individuals rather than a societal problem of the food system.” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write:
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
issues.org
May 22, 2025 at 10:20 PM
New GLP-1 drugs have the potential to change “the persistent, widespread cultural assumption that obesity is a problem of individuals rather than a societal problem of the food system.” @drlauraschmidt.bsky.social & Luc Hagenaars write:
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Excellent speech by @traceywoodruff.bsky.social If the administration is serious about making America healthy they need to fund environmental research. It is science fiction to think that you can cut 55% of EPA’s budget and expect people’s health to improve.
www.youtube.com/live/3l-bOsI...
www.youtube.com/live/3l-bOsI...
Toxic Priorities: How Trump’s EPA Puts Polluters Over People
YouTube video by Senate Environment & Public Works Committee
www.youtube.com
May 21, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Excellent speech by @traceywoodruff.bsky.social If the administration is serious about making America healthy they need to fund environmental research. It is science fiction to think that you can cut 55% of EPA’s budget and expect people’s health to improve.
www.youtube.com/live/3l-bOsI...
www.youtube.com/live/3l-bOsI...
Now we know that if a study is funded by the meat industry, it is 4 times more likely to conclude that red meat has positive or benign effects on cardiovascular disease risk. NIH should fund nutrition scientists so they can stop working for the food industry. ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S000...
Industry study sponsorship and conflicts of interest on the effect of unprocessed red meat on cardiovascular disease risk: a systematic review of clinical trials
Experimental research on the link between unprocessed red meat and cardiovascular
disease risk is inconsistent and may differ according to the financial interests of
red meat industry sponsors.
ajcn.nutrition.org
May 21, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Now we know that if a study is funded by the meat industry, it is 4 times more likely to conclude that red meat has positive or benign effects on cardiovascular disease risk. NIH should fund nutrition scientists so they can stop working for the food industry. ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S000...
Please join me for this free, online webinar. I will be sharing new results from my research using the @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social library on the tobacco industry's role in developing #ultraprocessedfoods.
May 22, 2025
9am - 10am PT | 12pm - 1pm ET
Zoom (virtual event)
lnkd.in/eEY-4PWF
May 22, 2025
9am - 10am PT | 12pm - 1pm ET
Zoom (virtual event)
lnkd.in/eEY-4PWF
May 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Please join me for this free, online webinar. I will be sharing new results from my research using the @ucsf-industrydocs.bsky.social library on the tobacco industry's role in developing #ultraprocessedfoods.
May 22, 2025
9am - 10am PT | 12pm - 1pm ET
Zoom (virtual event)
lnkd.in/eEY-4PWF
May 22, 2025
9am - 10am PT | 12pm - 1pm ET
Zoom (virtual event)
lnkd.in/eEY-4PWF
I encourage everyone to join me at the UCSF Global Oral Health Symposium, held for free and online. I will be speaking about recent developments in the #sodatax debate and this recent publication in @jama.com: lnkd.in/gd2_Z5bU.
@ahascience.bsky.social
@americanheart.bsky.social
@ahascience.bsky.social
@americanheart.bsky.social
May 10, 2025 at 2:06 AM
I encourage everyone to join me at the UCSF Global Oral Health Symposium, held for free and online. I will be speaking about recent developments in the #sodatax debate and this recent publication in @jama.com: lnkd.in/gd2_Z5bU.
@ahascience.bsky.social
@americanheart.bsky.social
@ahascience.bsky.social
@americanheart.bsky.social
Read my new piece in @jama.com on how Coca-Cola and Pepsi plan to sue the small City of San Cruz because voters had the audacity to pass a #sodatax to pay for health initiatives. Courageous officials in this small city are preparing to stand up to the corporate bully.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The Changing Landscape of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes
This Viewpoint discusses how sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in small US cities have provided an example for how to enact such policy changes elsewhere, which could help improve population health.
jamanetwork.com
April 29, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Read my new piece in @jama.com on how Coca-Cola and Pepsi plan to sue the small City of San Cruz because voters had the audacity to pass a #sodatax to pay for health initiatives. Courageous officials in this small city are preparing to stand up to the corporate bully.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Read my new piece on how GLP-1 agonist medications could fundamentally shift the scientific paradigm for obesity to more closely align with models of tobacco and alcohol addiction, written for the @nationalacademies.org @issuesinst.bsky.social #obesity #ozempic #addiction
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
The Ozempic Era Could Shift Blame for Obesity From Individuals to Commercial Food Systems
A new class of medications that people are taking to control their weight could help change how we think about obesity.
issues.org
April 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Read my new piece on how GLP-1 agonist medications could fundamentally shift the scientific paradigm for obesity to more closely align with models of tobacco and alcohol addiction, written for the @nationalacademies.org @issuesinst.bsky.social #obesity #ozempic #addiction
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
issues.org/ozempic-era-...
Looking forward to this free webinar on what's going on with #ultraprocessedfoods in California.
Are ultra-processed foods the new tobacco?
Join Dr. Laura Schmidt from UCSF & Jessie Gouck from the CA Dept of Public Health on May 5 at 12p PT for a free webinar where they discuss the health impacts and science of ultra-processed foods: berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Join Dr. Laura Schmidt from UCSF & Jessie Gouck from the CA Dept of Public Health on May 5 at 12p PT for a free webinar where they discuss the health impacts and science of ultra-processed foods: berkeley.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The New Tobacco? . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.
A Discussion about Ultra-Processed Foods
Lunch & Learn webinar series
Please join Dr. Laura Schmidt, UC San Francisco, and Jessie Gouck, California Department of Public Health (CDPH), for a conversat...
berkeley.zoom.us
April 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Looking forward to this free webinar on what's going on with #ultraprocessedfoods in California.
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
Thanks to @jaketapper.bsky.social for inviting me on his show yesterday! www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/h...
Top researcher quits NIH, citing censorship under RFK Jr. | CNN
Dr. Kevin Hall joins The Lead
www.cnn.com
April 18, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Thanks to @jaketapper.bsky.social for inviting me on his show yesterday! www.cnn.com/2025/04/17/h...
The New Tobacco? A Discussion about Ultra-Processed Foods
Mon 5/5 at 12pm
You are welcome to join a free online webinar hosted by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Monday, May 5 at 12p PT. Gain insight into #processedfoods as the new tobacco.
Register today: lnkd.in/gcQ6-GwR
#foodpolicy #obesity
Mon 5/5 at 12pm
You are welcome to join a free online webinar hosted by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Monday, May 5 at 12p PT. Gain insight into #processedfoods as the new tobacco.
Register today: lnkd.in/gcQ6-GwR
#foodpolicy #obesity
April 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
The New Tobacco? A Discussion about Ultra-Processed Foods
Mon 5/5 at 12pm
You are welcome to join a free online webinar hosted by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Monday, May 5 at 12p PT. Gain insight into #processedfoods as the new tobacco.
Register today: lnkd.in/gcQ6-GwR
#foodpolicy #obesity
Mon 5/5 at 12pm
You are welcome to join a free online webinar hosted by @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social on Monday, May 5 at 12p PT. Gain insight into #processedfoods as the new tobacco.
Register today: lnkd.in/gcQ6-GwR
#foodpolicy #obesity
My lab is in mourning today about Kevin Hall's early retirement from NIH. As an addiction scientist, it especially troubles me to hear that he felt forced to adhere to preconceived ideas about food addiction. That just isn't how science is done.
edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
Top NIH nutrition researcher studying ultraprocessed foods departs, citing censorship under Kennedy | CNN
When President Donald Trump named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services, one group of health researchers was cautiously optimistic that their cause...
edition.cnn.com
April 17, 2025 at 12:27 AM
My lab is in mourning today about Kevin Hall's early retirement from NIH. As an addiction scientist, it especially troubles me to hear that he felt forced to adhere to preconceived ideas about food addiction. That just isn't how science is done.
edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
edition.cnn.com/2025/04/16/h...
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
This is another big loss at NIH. He explains why in the thread below.
Our recent conversation about what we should eat
erictopol.substack.com/p/kevin-hall...
Our recent conversation about what we should eat
erictopol.substack.com/p/kevin-hall...
April 16, 2025 at 10:26 PM
This is another big loss at NIH. He explains why in the thread below.
Our recent conversation about what we should eat
erictopol.substack.com/p/kevin-hall...
Our recent conversation about what we should eat
erictopol.substack.com/p/kevin-hall...
I encourage everyone to read Murray Carpenter's new book on Coca-Cola's disinformation campaign to muddle nutrition science. He tells my story of the San Francisco soda tax. He will be reading from his book at the Ferry Building this Sunday at 2. @murray-journo.bsky.social new @mitpress.bsky.social
April 10, 2025 at 10:45 PM
I encourage everyone to read Murray Carpenter's new book on Coca-Cola's disinformation campaign to muddle nutrition science. He tells my story of the San Francisco soda tax. He will be reading from his book at the Ferry Building this Sunday at 2. @murray-journo.bsky.social new @mitpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
New paper - Medicaid "unwinding" associated with net decrease in buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder (some offset from commercial insurance).
Some state policies mitigated this negative impact.
Hats off to @drsumedhagupta.bsky.social for this work!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Some state policies mitigated this negative impact.
Hats off to @drsumedhagupta.bsky.social for this work!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Trends in Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
This cross-sectional study examines the association between Medicaid unwinding and dispensing of prescription buprenorphine, overall and by payment sources nationally and by state.
jamanetwork.com
April 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM
New paper - Medicaid "unwinding" associated with net decrease in buprenorphine prescribing for opioid use disorder (some offset from commercial insurance).
Some state policies mitigated this negative impact.
Hats off to @drsumedhagupta.bsky.social for this work!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Some state policies mitigated this negative impact.
Hats off to @drsumedhagupta.bsky.social for this work!
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
This wonderful profile of Marion Nestle at @newyorkuniversity.bsky.social by @nytimes.com captures her boundless energy and practical approach nutrition through an omnivorous whole foods diet. Worth a read!
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/w...
The Nutritionist Marion Nestle Meets Her Moment, At 88
After five decades in the field of nutrition, Dr. Marion Nestle thought she had seen it all. Then came “Make America Healthy Again.”
www.nytimes.com
April 8, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This wonderful profile of Marion Nestle at @newyorkuniversity.bsky.social by @nytimes.com captures her boundless energy and practical approach nutrition through an omnivorous whole foods diet. Worth a read!
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/w...
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
When you destroy fiber, it can't act on your behalf.
Consider apple versus apple sauce versus apple juice:
youtu.be/00CYtZ366do?...
Consider apple versus apple sauce versus apple juice:
youtu.be/00CYtZ366do?...
Robert Lustig: Apple Juice Spikes Glucose Fastest, Apple Puree Next, but Whole Apple is the Safest
YouTube video by Emery Pharma
youtu.be
March 31, 2025 at 1:37 AM
When you destroy fiber, it can't act on your behalf.
Consider apple versus apple sauce versus apple juice:
youtu.be/00CYtZ366do?...
Consider apple versus apple sauce versus apple juice:
youtu.be/00CYtZ366do?...
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
It's Document Drop Day! 🎉
We added over 220K new Teva and Allergan documents and 200K Juul Labs documents to the IDL today. Read more about the new documents and get the latest education and research updates in our monthly newsletter:
conta.cc/3RmmUSa
#industrydocuments #library
We added over 220K new Teva and Allergan documents and 200K Juul Labs documents to the IDL today. Read more about the new documents and get the latest education and research updates in our monthly newsletter:
conta.cc/3RmmUSa
#industrydocuments #library
March 2025 Updates - Over 400K new documents added!
Email from UCSF Industry Documents Library Collection Updates Opioid Industry Documents Archive Teva and Allergan Documents OIDA staff added over 220,000 documents to the Teva and Allergan
conta.cc
March 27, 2025 at 10:22 PM
It's Document Drop Day! 🎉
We added over 220K new Teva and Allergan documents and 200K Juul Labs documents to the IDL today. Read more about the new documents and get the latest education and research updates in our monthly newsletter:
conta.cc/3RmmUSa
#industrydocuments #library
We added over 220K new Teva and Allergan documents and 200K Juul Labs documents to the IDL today. Read more about the new documents and get the latest education and research updates in our monthly newsletter:
conta.cc/3RmmUSa
#industrydocuments #library
Reposted by Laura A. Schmidt PhD
🚨 Researching Juul Labs & the North Carolina settlement?
UNC Libraries has you covered! Their research guide dives into the #Juul Labs Collection’s origins, industry practices, public health impacts, and more. Check it out: guides.lib.unc.edu/juul
#PublicHealth #Research @unclibrary.bsky.social
UNC Libraries has you covered! Their research guide dives into the #Juul Labs Collection’s origins, industry practices, public health impacts, and more. Check it out: guides.lib.unc.edu/juul
#PublicHealth #Research @unclibrary.bsky.social
LibGuides: Juul Labs Documents Collection for North Carolina: Home
This guide provides searching assistance and key information for the NC JUUL documents database.
guides.lib.unc.edu
March 27, 2025 at 10:48 PM
🚨 Researching Juul Labs & the North Carolina settlement?
UNC Libraries has you covered! Their research guide dives into the #Juul Labs Collection’s origins, industry practices, public health impacts, and more. Check it out: guides.lib.unc.edu/juul
#PublicHealth #Research @unclibrary.bsky.social
UNC Libraries has you covered! Their research guide dives into the #Juul Labs Collection’s origins, industry practices, public health impacts, and more. Check it out: guides.lib.unc.edu/juul
#PublicHealth #Research @unclibrary.bsky.social
The target marketing of #ultraprocessedfoods to toddlers is a strategy that many of today's food corporations (Kraft, Nabisco, General Foods) learned during decades of ownership by tobacco companies--instill brand loyalty as young as possible. @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Ultra-processed babies: are toddler snacks one of the great food scandals of our time?
For time-poor parents, straws, sticks, pouches and powders can seem like a quick, convenient and even healthy option. But these oversweetened, mushy foods are creating a generation of choosy consumers...
www.theguardian.com
March 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
The target marketing of #ultraprocessedfoods to toddlers is a strategy that many of today's food corporations (Kraft, Nabisco, General Foods) learned during decades of ownership by tobacco companies--instill brand loyalty as young as possible. @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...