Ditto to Dr. Mark Hyman’s TEDMED Talk

A nice, healthy Friday afternoon treat for you all. This TEDMED talk from Dr. Mark Hyman articulates the ShapeUp essentials:

1. The costs of obesity – or rather “diabesity,” the hybrid term that Dr. Hyman coined to describe the linked problems of obesity and diabetes.
2. The failed past interventions on behalf of diabesity. As of his talk, diabesity will cost 47 trillion dollars over the next 20 years.
3. The belief that diabesity can be eradicated with the proper interventions: namely, social ones.

Based on his belief in peer support, Dr. Hayman worked with Pastor Rich Warren of Saddleback Church to design a social weight loss program for the church’s 30,000 members.  It was incredibly successful: 15,000 participants lost over 250,000 lbs leading to lower drug dependencies and chronic conditions.

Dr. Hyman’s talk proves that ShapeUp’s model works, and while his explanations and motivations directly mirror ours, it is always exciting to hear them fresh. Take a listen to hear how he became convinced that social interventions could be more powerful than traditional ones, and then see how Dr. Kumar came to the same conclusion.