Free Republic

LAS VEGAS -- There's lazy, and then there's Las Vegas lazy. In increasing numbers, Las Vegas tourists exhausted by the four miles of gluttony laid out before them are getting around on electric "mobility scooters." Don't think trendy Vespa motorbikes. Think updated wheelchairs. Forking over about $40 a day and their pride, apparently healthy tourists are cruising around Las Vegas casinos in transportation intended for the infirm. You don't have to take a step. You don't even have to put your drink down. "It was all the walking," 27-year-old Simon Lezama said on his red Merits Pioneer 3. Lezama, a...

When the Town of Babylon installed global positioning system technology in most of its fleet of 250 vehicles in January, officials touted it as a way to improve efficiency, particularly during emergencies such as snowstorms. However, the system also is being used to monitor worker behavior -- a realization that has left town .employees increasingly nervous. One of a growing number of municipalities and corporations around the country using GPS to track workers, Babylon has become the local flash point in the debate over how to balance the desire to improve efficiency with the need to protect worker privacy. Already,...

THE US obesity problem might be more serious than previously believed and most adults in the United States were at risk of becoming overweight or obese, US researchers said today. In a government study that followed 4000 participants over 30 years, researchers found that 90 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women were overweight or later became overweight. "National surveys and other studies have told us that the United States has a major weight problem, but this study suggests that we could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity (cases) over the next few...

AMERICANS are getting fatter in every state, with the exception of Oregon, and those living in the southeast are the most likely to be obese, according to a report issued today. Mississippi had the highest rate of obesity, with 29.5 per cent of adults classified as obese in 2004. In Colorado, the slimmest state, just 16 per cent of adults are obese, the Trust for America's Health found. Oregon's rate of 21 per cent was unchanged. "We have a crisis of poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the US and it's time we dealt with it," said Shelley Hearne, executive...

PEOPLE living in inner-city concrete jungles surrounded by graffiti are more likely to be obese than those from more green areas, a study has revealed. Research has suggested that where people live may be linked to levels of obesity and physical activity. Evidence also suggests that high levels of "incivilities" - such as litter and graffiti - are linked to poor health. Researchers from the British Medical Research Council studied whether living in less pleasant areas was linked to higher levels of obesity among adults. And it was ... about 50 per cent higher

LONDON, June 30 (UPI) -- Only 1 percent of overweight women in a British survey said they are happy with their shape, blaming the celebrity culture for their attitude. Of the 4,000 overweight women questioned by the National Slimming Survey, 83 percent said they suffered from deep "self-loathing". Some 91 percent felt depressed and 79 percent said they felt "utter despair." Two-thirds of overweight women said they have felt like "life is not worth living," Sky News reported. The survey also said 74 percent admitted to hiding food in their bedroom, car, garage or garden. About half of respondents removed...