Your Body Wants You to Stay Fat

Studies don't support connection between working out and slimming down

(NEWSER) - The idea that exercise is the key to shedding pounds is relatively modern—and a whole lot of hogwash, Gary Taubes argues in New York magazine. Though the theory that working out makes us lose weight has been around since the 1960s, scientific research has consistently shown that the relationship between weight and exercise is spurious. More»

The truth may not set you free—but it might make your pants looser

(NEWSER) - Nutritionist Joy Bauer, the "Today" show's diet editor, looks at some popular dieting myths—or are they?

1. Diet and exercise can transform fat into muscle: The one can't become the other.
2. Metabolism slows with age, and there's nothing you can do about it: Exercise can maintain your burn.

Scientists find sitting bulks up behinds

(NEWSER) - You've worried about clothes making you look fat—apparently, you should have worried about chairs actually making you fat. That's because sitting for long stretches can actually make you fatter, scientists have found. Studies suggest that the pressure placed in the butt and hips from sitting too long can generate extra fat in those areas. Tel Aviv University researchers studying MRIs found that preadipocyte cells—the precursors to fat cells—turn into fat cells and produce even more fat to cushion muscles against the pressure of sitting among people paralyzed by spinal injuries. They even found lines of fat cells invading muscle, reports the Telegraph . More»

Experimental fat-zapping drug works on chunky monkeys

(NEWSER) - An experimental weight loss drug helped the fattest, laziest members of a monkey colony lose an average of 11% after just four weeks of treatment—without any forced change in diet or increase in exercise. Researchers behind the drug, following the same strategy used to fight some cancers, designed Adipotide to kill fat cells by destroying the blood vessels that feed them, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Study links extra weight to forgetfulness in older women

(NEWSER) - Fat makes women more forgetful, a new study suggests. Researchers found that carrying extra weight negatively affects memory and that "pear-shaped" women—as opposed to "apple shaped"—are hardest hit. The study of more than 8000 post-menopausal women found that for every one-point increase in a woman's BMI, her memory score dropped by one point, notes the BBC . More»