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Obesity and lack of exercise will soon overtake smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in the US, scientists from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Tuesday. The research prompted the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC's parent, to announce a new national advertising campaign and increased research into obesity and related diseases. "Americans need to understand that [being] overweight and obesity are literally killing us," said Tommy Thompson, HHS secretary. Anti-obesity activists were sceptical that the initiative would make a significant difference. "The government took years to act as aggressively as it might...

"I" is for Impotence"I" can't believe this could happen to me!By Chef Carlo3bNOT MUCH SEX IN THE CITY, or anywhere else for that matter if you are a maturing male, and experiencing some pretty common problems. For some men, being over 50, even if you are in great physical and mental health, can pose some really serious problems, and you may require the male equivalent of the 50,000 mile check-up. The "Oh no, not me" Male Complex!The "Oh no, not me" complex comes to mind!  Contrary to popular belief, Men do not always think about sex, especially if it...

PARIS (AP)--To honor the soldiers who waded ashore, fought and died on Normandy's beaches, France is planning commemorations and inviting world leaders for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The commemorations will offer France and its World War II allies, including the United States, a chance to mark their historical ties a year after another war--in Iraq--badly strained their relations. ``These commemorations should be as splendid as possible,'' said Hamlaoui Mekachera, the French war veterans minister, at a planning meeting Monday for next year's anniversary of the June 6, 1944, invasion that led to the end of Nazi rule...

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Three minutes after Jim Hager started eating M&Ms with a pair of chopsticks, he was headed for the Guinness Book of World Records. The 47-year-old Oakland resident gobbled 115 M&Ms in 3 minutes Sunday, breaking a previous record of 112 Smarties consumed by Kathryn Ratcliffe of England in December 2002. The new record won't become official until event organizers send documentation to the Guinness association, including a videotape, photographs and written declarations from witnesses, but it seems likely he'll have his place in the list. For his efforts, he received 25 pounds of M&Ms courtesy of...

Iraq marchers demand anti-war nuts get out of S.F. Protest was part of a global anti-anti-war effort.

PARIS (AP) - Gravediggers were called back to work on a national holiday Friday to deal with the grim aftermath of a heat wave that left up to 3,000 dead in France. With morgues full, authorities took over the vast storeroom of a Paris farmers' market or kept bodies in refrigerated tents - as temperatures subsided throughout Europe, ending one of the most severe periods of intense heat on record across the continent. Morgues and cemeteries have been overwhelmed in the heat wave, which the health minister called ``a true epidemic.'' A Paris regional funeral official said families would likely...

There may be more to weight control than just eating right and exercising, a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology (Vol. 158, No. 1: 85-92) suggests. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School have found that eating patterns -- frequency of meals, skipping meals, eating out -- also may play a role in obesity, a risk factor for some cancers. "You really need to spread your calories across your day and eat your breakfast," said lead researcher Yunsheng Ma, PhD, an epidemiologist in the medical school's Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine. Spreading out the calories by...

Kobayashi's dominance a lot to swallow By Darren RovellPage 2 CONEY ISLAND, N.Y. -- Three minutes into the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest, Japanese speed-eater Takeru Kobayashi had scarfed down 17 hot dogs and buns. There were nine minutes remaining, but Kobayashi had already bested the personal highs of more than half of the competitors. The numbers don't lie, even though they're nearly impossible to believe. For the third consecutive year, the event was no contest as Kobayashi dominated. Although he did finish six hot dogs and buns short of the record he set last year, Kobayashi's 44½...

The "Oh no, not me" Male Complex!By Chef Carlo3bNOT MUCH SEX IN THE CITY, or anywhere else for that matter if you are a maturing male, and experiencing some pretty common problems. For some men, being over 50, even if you are in great physical and mental health, can pose some really serious problems, and you may require the male equivalent of the 50,000 mile check-up. The ProblemThe "Oh no, not me" complex comes to mind!  Contrary to popular belief, Men do not always think about sex, especially if it questions his own performance. Most men are, by nature,...

NEW YORK - The defending champ has won again at the international hot-dog eating contest at New York's Coney Island. Takeru Kobayashi of Japan downed 44 1/2 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes, good enough to win, but still six dogs short of his own record last year. It was the 88th annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. The winner takes home the "Coveted International Mustard Yellow Belt" and a year's supply of hot dogs. Last year, Kobayashi consumed a record 50 1/2 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes to win. At one...

Famine-struck N Koreans 'eating children' By Mark Nicol (Filed: 08/06/2003) Cannibalism is increasing in North Korea following another poor harvest and a big cut in international food aid, according to refugees who have fled the stricken country. Aid agencies are alarmed by refugees' reports that children have been killed and corpses cut up by people desperate for food. Requests by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to be allowed access to "farmers' markets", where human meat is said to be traded, have been turned down by Pyongyang, citing "security reasons". Anyone caught selling human meat faces execution, but in...

LONDON (Reuters) - Swedish and American researchers have solved the puzzle of why baby boys are so much bigger at birth than girls -- their mothers eat more during pregnancy. Women carrying male embryos consume about 10 percent more calories, eight percent more protein and have a higher intake of carbohydrates and animal and vegetable fats, according to research published on Friday. "It is widely accepted that on average newborn boys are heavier than newborn girls. The findings give us a better understanding of why that is the case," said Rulla Tamimi, an epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public...

"Explosions in Riyadh, So Let's Blame Dubya!" Posted by Doc Farmer Sunday, May 18, 2003 I lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for about four-and-a-half years before I moved to Doha, Qatar, last July. And other than the way they drive in Riyadh, I really liked it there. I've still got friends there. I've even got family there--my cousin and her hubby. So you can imagine my concern when I heard about the terrorist bombings of three residential compounds and a joint Saudi/American business there. I sent an e-mail to my friends and colleagues there, and thank God, they're all fine....

In an unprecedented formal complaint, France yesterday accused the Bush administration of conducting an organised smear campaign against the French government through a series of unattributed and unsubstantiated leaks to the United States press. Paris has told its diplomats in America to monitor the US press for further signs of a disinformation campaign, a very public sign of distrust suggesting that there has been no improvement in Franco-American relations since the Iraq war. France's ambassador to Washington, Jean-David Levitte, sent a letter to the administration and to Congress complaining about a string of news stories in the American press before...

An Open Letter to President Jacques Chiraq Dear Jack, I'm an American. And as an American, there are some things I want to get off my chest. Colin Powell would probably make this sound all nice and fancy, but I'm not a diplomat, as the next few paragraphs will make painfully clear to you. I don't like you very much, Jack. I don't like you, your government or your country. I think as allies go you make a passable enemy. You sure as shootin' could never be mistaken as a friend. Not to put a fine point on it, you...

"U.N. Credibility: The Ultimate Oxymoron" Posted by Doc Farmer Wednesday, April 30, 2003 I keep hearing pundits and talking heads and "experts" on the news, saying how the U.S. must involve the United Nations in post-conflict Iraq. Their reason? We need the U.N.'s credibility. Excuse me? WHAT credibility? The credibility that dragged the people of Iraq through 12 years of torture, rape, and murder, while U.N. members flapped their collective yap and did nothing? The credibility that had the chance to take down Saddam in 1991, but didn't because the Frogs said not to, thereby placing tens of thousands of...

The anti-war alliance of France, Germany and Russia seemed to be unravelling last night when President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder moved to repair relations with America and Britain. As Tony Blair flew to Hanover for a summit with Mr Schröder, M Chirac spoke by telephone to President Bush for the first time since the row over the failed attempt to secure United Nations approval for war in Iraq. French officials said M Chirac told Mr Bush in the 20-minute call of his readiness "to act pragmatically and case by case" on issues such as disarmament, sanctions, interim government,...

PARIS, April 15 -- An American backlash against French products and businesses has started to bite, dashing hopes here that appeals in the United States to punish France economically for opposing the war in Iraq would go unheeded. American importers of French wine are reporting sharp drops in sales in the past two months, and other French products also have been affected. The Federation of Wine Exporters has called a meeting Thursday to discuss how to respond. The nation's principal business federation took the unusual step of publicly acknowledging the problem, conceding today that sales, recruitment and business contacts have...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. -- The State Department of Commerce will lead a trade mission to Europe next month. The search for new industries and investments will include stops in France, a country opposed to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.</p> <p>The trip is causing controversy.</p>

PARIS (AP) - The head of France's largest business federation encouraged Americans upset by his country's opposition to the war against Iraq to write French politicians - preferably, while sipping a glass of French wine. "If there are people who don't like the way France behaves in diplomacy, they should send telegrams to our embassies - not stop buying our bottles, our yogurts or our airplanes," said Ernest Antoine Seilliere, the president of France's biggest business federation. Seilliere said Tuesday that French companies were suffering financially from the U.S.-France clash over the war in Iraq. American consumers, angered when the...

BORDEAUX, France, April 14 (AFP) - France has begun to feel the effect of a United States boycott of its wines in retaliation for opposition to the US-led war on Iraq, leading merchants said here Monday. Nicolas Gailly, head of the company Barton et Guestier which claims to be the biggest French wine seller in the United States, admitted sales had gone down, saying American distributors were making less effort to market French products. "It's not politically correct to promote French products generally and wine in particular," he said. But Gailly said he was not giving way to pessimisim. His...

The Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival is embarking on its 18th year as the oldest and largest wine and food festival in the state. Highlights include a fine wine auction, a grand tasting, winery luncheons, cooking classes, and wine seminars. The weekend culminates with our annual Sunday Texas Wine & Food Grand Tasting Fair at Austin's renowned Salt Lick Barbeque. SATURDAY, APRIL 5 A Lovely Way to Start the Day: A Lowcountry Breakfast with Louis Osteen "Hair of the Dog" Brunch Texas Wine Seminar "Vintner's Pick . . . Best of the Bunch" Varietal Roulette: A Tutored Tasting...

Feel like expressing your distaste with French appeasement? The link below will take you to the homepage of the FrogMeisterGenerale' himself. http://www.elysee.fr/ang/ecrire/mail.htm

Each single-meal MRE is targeted at 1,300 calories, and it's a challenge to get soldiers to eat all the nutrition they need.

Did anyone else see it? The talking-head anchor on Geraldo just now (at about 15-18 minutes after the hour) was discussing the significance of the French and German refusal to join the coalition against Saddam.The anchor concluded mentioning that some were calling France "Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys!"Did anyone else catch it? What was the context?I couldn'be believe what I heard!!!!

Boycott? Jamais! Instead, let's reflect on France's innumerable contributions to civilization. Feel free to add your own. Jerry Lewis receives French Legion of Honor

Eating fish 'reduces artery damage in smokers' Eating fish can help reverse the artery damage caused by smoking which leads to heart attacks and strokes. Scientists have found that one serving of fish may be enough to stop arteries hardening in smokers while vitamin C is also beneficial, as is a drug used to treat gout. Researchers gave 15 smokers supplements of taurine, an amino acid which exists naturally in all kinds of fish - not just the "oily" varieties thought to be the most healthy. Taurine lessened a harmful effect caused by smoking which causes blood vessels to lose...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Americans feasted on plates of Thanksgiving turkey Thursday, U.S. scientists reported they have made progress in understanding how eating less leads to longer life. Studies in yeast, rodents and other organisms have found that drastically cutting calories extends life span, and researchers are striving to find out how that happens. The hope is that human drugs may be developed to mimic that effect, without having to eat less. In a report in Friday's edition of the journal Science, researchers said studies with fruit flies, which have many genes similar to mammals, showed that an enzyme called...

CHICAGO - Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too. For years, the Atkins formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on taboo fatty foods has been blasphemy to many in the health establishment, who view it as a formula for cardiovascular ruin. But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol...

THE DEATH PENALTY – There were at least 13 good reasons for Illinois governor George Ryan to announce a moratorium on executions in his state: 13 men on death row were found to be wrongly convicted. Mike Wallace talks to nine of those exonerated men and to Gov. Ryan.

Fat is a consumerist issue: how a 'grease tax' may encourage healthier habits Government will be urged to introduce a tax on high-fat foods as a means of promoting a more balanced diet for Britons 16 July 2002 The shopping is finally packed into the trolley and the check-out assistant hands over a long receipt after an hour of battling through the supermarket aisles in search of a week's victuals. Alongside the usual small print on the receipt – VAT, loyalty points, two for the price-of-one bargains – the eye is drawn to a item printed in bold type: "Fat...

<p>PARIS (Reuters) -- French soccer fans let out a collective howl of anguish and hung their heads in despair on Tuesday as the defending champion crashed out of the World Cup after just three games.</p> <p>Thousands of fans stood in wretched misery in front of a vast screen in central Paris as their national heroes lost 2-0 to Denmark -- a humiliating fall from grace for the country that had revelled in its 1998 victory.</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to resisting the siren call of sweets and other goodies, genes may make all the difference, researchers say. The answer to whether you can eat just one chip, or say no to that luscious piece of chocolate cake, may be locked deep in your DNA, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (news - web sites). "Although environmental, psychological and physiologic factors affect appetite and nutrient intake, several studies suggest that behaviors such as food and beverage preferences and nutrient intake are at least partially genetically determined,"...

French FM: US Jewry more 'intransigent' than Sharon By Herb Keinon In order to pressure Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to show more flexibility, the EU should try to whittle away at American Jewry's support for the prime minister, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in a closed meeting Monday. In the world according to Vedrine, who as a result of the recent French elections is on his way out of office, Sharon is an obstacle to the peace process bolstered in his intransigence by American Jewry, which Vedrine said is essentially more Sharon than Sharon. These diplomatic insights were shared...