5 Not-So-Obvious Reasons We're Fat

Study also find US has highest BMI among high-income countries

(NEWSER) - Almost half a billion adults—10% of the adult population worldwide—were obese as of 2008, a new study finds. That’s nearly twice the 1980 rate, reports Scientific American . On average, each decade has seen a body mass index inch up 0.4 to an average of 23.8 in 2008; a BMI of more than 25 is considered overweight, while more than 30 is labeled obese. "Obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are no longer Western problems or problems of wealthy nations," said a scientist. More»

(NEWSER) - A few extra pounds can actually be good for you, the Globe and Mail reports. A recent long-term study of Canadian health records shows that people classified as overweight—with a Body Mass Index of 25 to 30—are 17% less likely to die than those with “normal” BMI, between 18.5 and 25. The study also found that extremely thin and obese people have a far higher mortality rate. More»

Strong connections between weight and cancer in men and women

(NEWSER) - Researchers have identified a powerful link between being overweight and the risk of developing certain types of cancer. Strong links were discovered between obesity and cancer of the esophagus in men and women, and uterine endometrial and gallbladder cancers in women, reports WebMD. Researchers also found modest connections between obesity and colon cancer in men, some breast cancer in women, and blood cancers for both, according to the study published in the Lancet. More»

David Lazarus: It's time to stop the obesity epidemic

(NEWSER) - The obesity news just keeps getting worse, the latest example being the study warning that 4 in 10 American adults could be obese in less than 20 years. "Americans eat too damn much," writes David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times . And though it may be distasteful to get government involved in our dinners, it's become necessary: It's clear that "millions of Americans can't be trusted to look after their own well-being," while everybody else gets stuck with their health bills. More»

People who disrupt biological clocks have higher BMIs

(NEWSER) - Your alarm clock could be making you flabby, suggests new research. People who force themselves to maintain schedules that are different from their natural sleep routines are more likely to put on the pounds, reports LiveScience . Researchers collected data from more than 65,000 Europeans and found that for every hour of sleep discrepancy between their work days and free days, the person was 33% more likely to have a higher BMI, a measure of fatness. More»