Free Republic

Wendy's International Inc. (NYSE:WEN - news), the No. 3 U.S. hamburger chain, on Friday said it would remove the term "Biggie" from its french fries and drinks, switching to the well known terms small, medium and large.However, the new designations may confuse some diners who are used to such sizing at other restaurants.At rival McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:MCD - news), the largest burger chain, a 32 ounce soft drink is designated a large. At Wendy's, a 32 ounce drink will now be called medium, instead of Biggie.Wendy's is also adding a 42-ounce soft drink -- the equivalent of 3-1/2 cans of...

Peter Jennings was one of 170,000 Americans diagnosed with lung cancer each year. It is the most common form of cancer, responsible for 28 percent of all cancer deaths. Jennings died Sunday, at the age of 67. Treatments are few once lung cancer is diagnosed, but there is one very obvious, but often very difficult, way to reduce your risk of getting lung cancer -- quit smoking, reported WCVB-TV in Boston. News of Jennings' death has been a jolt for some smokers. "You hear about it all the time, it just never sinks in, but for some reason (Monday) it...

PERSONAL HEALTH I can't understand why we still don't have a national initiative to control what is fast emerging as the most serious and costly health problem in America: excess weight. Are our schools, our parents, our national leaders blind to what is happening - a health crisis that looms even larger than our former and current smoking habits? Just look at the numbers, so graphically described in an eye-opening new book, "Diabesity: The Obesity-Diabetes Epidemic That Threatens America - and What We Must Do to Stop It" (Bantam), by Dr. Francine R. Kaufman, a pediatric endocrinologist, the director of...

Adult men and women are roughly an inch taller than they were in 1960, but are nearly 25 pounds heavier on average as well, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In addition, average BMI (body mass index, a weight-for-height formula used to measure obesity) has increased among adults from approximately 25 in 1960 to 28 in 2002. The report, Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index (BMI) 1960-2002: United States, prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, shows that the average height of a man aged 20-74 years increased from...