Now I've heard everything

"An expanding waistline may have less to with what a person eats than what’s already inside, say microbiologists Jeffrey Gordon and Fredrik Backhed at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis. Variations in the population of bacteria living in the gut may explain why some people pack on extra pounds while others stay slim."

The article is free at Discover magazine.

The True Believer

"Whatever else you might want to say about Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Julie Gerberding, she is not a quitter. Ever since controversy erupted over the CDC's claims about the number of so-called obesity-related deaths published last year in a paper co-authored by Gerberding, she has been out in front of the mikes trying to defend both her claims about what she persists in calling America's "tragic and unacceptable" obesity epidemic and the integrity of the CDC itself. The problem is that every time she gets up to speak her take-away messages destroy a little bit more of both her standing as a scientist and the credibility of her institution." Full story here.

Cavuto's essay

Neil Cavuto, a Fox News analyst, has a thought provoking essay on how fat people are treated. The Google Ads (over which he has no control) when I read the essay were for Photos of Fat People and for Tim Russert's Book.

How to raise fat children

"She hands them some breakfast, [in the car] usually a muffin, a Pop-tart or a banana. Then she drops them off at day care. . ."

This quote is from a Wall Street Journal story about how detergent researchers use the perfect storm of snacking on-the-run, but shouldn't we be worrying about the mini-heart attack and diabetes candidates we have strapped into the car seats in the SUVs?

Just so you don't think I'm picking on working Moms, this morning I saw at Meijer's (grocery/department store) a mother strolling through the aisles with a toddler in the baby seat of the grocery cart. When he'd start to whine and fuss, she'd pop food in his mouth that she'd apparently brought from home for this purpose. She's teaching him what to do when he's bored or frustrated or uncomfortable (he was all three), EAT.

Starting over at 54

She started a path to a new life and good health after meeting Chazz Weaver, who set out to prove you CAN eat at McDonald's and lose weight if you use common sense and exercise.

WELL diet reduces blood pressure

"(Reuters Health) Jun 01 - A diet with specified targets for fruit, vegetable and dairy intake -- the WELL diet -- is more effective than a typical low-fat diet in reducing blood pressure, Australian investigators report.

Dr. Caryl A. Nowson and colleagues at Deakin University in Burwood enrolled 54 male volunteers who completed their study. As reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition for May, the subjects had a body mass index between 25 and 35, with systolic blood pressure of 120 mm Hg or higher and diastolic blood pressure of 80 mm Hg or higher. Approximately one third were on antihypertensive medication."

Am J Clin Nutr 2005;81:983-989.

Seen at Medscape.com.