memory lane
STAT remembers: Thanksgiving stories over the years
STAT/Alex Hogan
As about one in eight Americans settle into their seats at dinner tomorrow with their appetite curbed by a GLP-1 prescription, I'll be thinking about how to eat as much as my body will possibly allow. Luckily, there's a STAT story for that: Almost exactly a decade ago, former STAT reporter and editor Megan Thielking wrote about whether it's possible to stretch your stomach in preparation for a feast like Thanksgiving. The bottom line: Yes, but you needed to start preparing weeks or even months ago. Today, STAT's Alex Hogan is also re-releasing an iconic video hosted by Megan, on how our stomachs know not to eat themselves.
In honor of the holiday week, here are some other iconic Thanksgiving-time stories from a decade of STAT:
- In 2020, many of us stayed home for Thanksgiving rather than travel. But for those who were adamant about going to see family, federal health authorities had one piece of advice: plan, plan, plan. If you need some perspective on anything in your life, read this story from Helen Branswell to remind yourself of what a scary time that was. "I can only speak for myself in saying that I am so tired and feeling very deprived of human connection in many ways," epidemiologist Crystal Watson told Helen. "And so I understand and I'm feeling the need to see friends and family."
- For many people, Thanksgiving is about football. For the past three years, the NFL has reported record viewership on the holiday, with 141 million people watching at least one of the three games played last year. In 2019, STAT published a First Opinion essay from three scholars about the everyday dangers of the sport, from little league all the way to the professionals on television. (That same year, a Pediatrics survey found that a majority of parents support age restrictions on tackling. Years later, there are still no such rules.)
- And plenty of people have some suggestions for how we can change Black Friday. See these First Opinion essays: "Health care needs a Black Friday sale: the case for legalizing discounts on medical services." And, this interesting one: "Rethinking Black Friday to include end-of-life conversations."
podcast
The best boys for medical research
When you think about the animals used in scientific research, mice or monkeys might come to mind. But as we learn in this week's episode of the First Opinion Podcast, you should also think about beagles.
This week, First Opinion editor Torie Bosch speaks with science journalist Melanie D.G. Kaplan about the ethics of animal research, the U.S. government's attempt to move away from the practice, and why the number of beagles used in lab research has dropped. Listen now.
No comments