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MEXICO CITY - Abraham Leon was getting a checkup when he found out he had high blood pressure and was at risk of developing diabetes. On the spot, the 5-foot-6-inch, 240-pound lab researcher joined "Vamos Por Un Million de Kilos" (Let's Lose a Million Kilos), a national campaign to get Mexicans to collectively trim about 2 million pounds.

Many people worry about putting on a few pounds during the holiday season. But when you reach for a Christmas cookie, keep in mind that you're not the only one who's going to enjoy that tasty treat: It will also get eaten by the bacteria living in your gut. And it turns out that the kind of bacteria living there may affect how much weight you gain. Until a couple of years ago, scientists didn't have the tools to figure out exactly what lives in a person's digestive tract. But with new genetic probes, they can do a kind of...

I need advice -- does anyone know about surgery to cure snoring? Have you had it, or do you know anyone who has had it? I've exhausted all other non-surgical possibilities (nasal strips, C-PAP oxygen masks, different mattresses, sleep positions, etc.) and nothing works for me, so I am considering surgery. The procedure is called "uvulopalatalpharyngoplasty." If you know anything about it, I'd appreciate hearing from you. In essence, I'm trying to find out: "Does this surgery work?"

At 400 pounds, Steve Vaught is taking the biggest leap of his life. He's walking across the country to lose weight. Averaging 15 miles per day along Route 66, the self-titled "Fat Man Walking" has traveled 300 miles on foot -- and along the way, he's lost 50 pounds. Check out Steve's website below. http://www.thefatmanwalking.com/

SONKAJARVI, Finland -- I'm less than halfway through the World Wife Carrying Championship course when steroids suddenly make a lot of sense. Everything is going fine until my wife and I hit the water hazard. It's 3 meters deep, about 30 feet long and there is a fireman in scuba gear standing by in case of emergency. By the time I wade its length, I'm so exhausted that we do not so much step from the pool as evolve out of it, like the first amphibians to leave the oceans and crawl onto land. We switch from the traditional piggyback...

Taking your doctor's advice to lose weight could also lighten your tax bill under an Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) (IRS) ruling announced Tuesday. The costs for participating in weight-loss programs, aside from special foods, may be tax deductible, the IRS said. But make sure the programs are in response to a physician's diagnosis, not just to shape up or look better. "Such costs are nondeductible personal expenses," the IRS said. The ruling is meant to recognize obesity's increasingly accepted status as a disease. To be eligible for a deduction, a taxpayer must have qualifying medical expenses of...