Would We Ever Elect the Fat Guy?

After 30 years on the rise, rates appear to be stabilizing

(NEWSER) - After rapidly rising for three decades, obesity rates in the US are apparently stabilizing—finally, the Los Angeles Times reports. New data shows just a slight rise in obesity rates since 2005, and many experts say this flattening reflects the success of efforts such as healthier school lunches and nutritional information on food packages. Of course, as one nutrition expert notes, "The bad news is we still have obesity rates that are just astronomical." Specifically, 35.7% of American adults were considered obese in 2010. More»

Holidays, relationships, and quitting smoking among the dangers

(NEWSER) - With Americans continuing to get bigger and bigger , we need all the help we can get to stay healthy—so the Daily Beast offers a warning on 15 things that might cause you to pack on the pounds:

• Holiday season: With all the food, stress, and booze associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, the holidays account for 51% of all weight gained during the year.
• Quitting smoking: Men are especially at risk here, with an 8% chance of adding more than 28 pounds after giving up tobacco. Women get off easier, with just a 6% chance.

'Girth doesn't equal character,' writes Frank Bruni

(NEWSER) - Sometimes, size does matter, such as in spelunking or squeezing into a middle seat on economy class flights. "But the presidency? That’s ludicrous," writes Frank Bruni in the New York Times , referring to recent sneering coverage of the portly Chris Christie and his presidential amibitions. There are plenty of reasons to dislike the New Jersey governor, says Bruni, but his waistline isn't one. "Girth doesn’t equal character," he writes. "And mettle has better measurements than the number of scoops in your post-dinner sundae or miles in your pre-breakfast run." More»

Her outpatient center calls story 'premature'

(NEWSER) - Lap-Band surgery appears to have claimed another victim. A woman in Orange County, Calif., died earlier this month after undergoing the procedure, the fifth to expire since the 1-800-GET-THIN advertising campaign started two years ago, the Los Angeles Times reports. Paula Rojeski, 55, was 5 foot 5 and weighed around 180 pounds when she underwent the stomach surgery to discourage overeating. More»

Anthropologists see stigma showing up in other nations for first time

(NEWSER) - Nice job, America. Your obsession with body weight is now making people in other countries feel bad. So say anthropologists who surveyed attitudes about weight around the world and found that a "fat stigma" is showing up for the first time in places such as American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and Paraguay—where having extra pounds has long been seen as a good thing, reports the New York Times . More»