"We're all starting to look like Mr. Potato Head," said Howard Weintraub of New York University Medical Center -- at yesterdays court hearing on banning the use of trans fat in NY restaurants. Artificial trans fats -- found in frying oils, processed foods and baked goods -- are major contributors to the nations rising obesity and heart disease epidemic.

If the ban goes through in December, local restaurants will have six months to reduce all trans fat levels in their products to less than 0.5 grams per serving -- a landmark step in the battle to prevent U.S. obesity. Sixty percent of Americans are overweight and 30 percent are obese. French fries are the top vegetable consumed by children 18 to 24 months old -- and are among the highest in trans fat content. Who wonders how the nations children got so fat?

There is some minor protest from the areas restaurant association, which claims it doesn't feel a ban is necessary. They had a year to change their ways -- and no one did a darn thing. Audrey Silk, founder of NYC citizens lobbying against smoker harassment, expressed cynicism against the argument that French fries could be bad for your health, despite the evidence. She claims the city is acting as though "a plate of French fries is like a bullet to the heart." Hey -- no ones putting a french fry to your head, honey.

The city of Pueblo, Colorado banned smoking from workplaces and public buildings in 2003 -- and since then the rate of heart attacks has fallen 27 percent, according to hospital records. While banning smoking from public places does not necessarily -- and most likely won't -- push smokers to quit their habit, it does go to show how much second-hand smoke effects non-smokers. Second-hand smoke has been shown to trigger heart attacks in people with cardiovascular issues.

Over 35,000 non-smokers suffer second-hand smoke related heart attacks a year, reports the American Heart Association. I know there are many a defensive pack-a-day-smoking old men out there who would fight tooth and nail for the right to spark up their habit any-ol'-where-this-is-a-free-country, who aren't going to be happy about this evidence -- but they'll probably hack to death soon anyway.

Obesity is a major contributor to heart disease, and increases the risk of death the heavier a woman weighs, finds a new study. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study followed over 90,000 women for an average of 7 years.

The women were classified according to their Body Mass Index (BMI), or weight to height ratio -- as normal, overweight, or obese. The last classification had three categories of it's own -- obesity 1, obesity 2 and extreme obesity. Women in obese category 1 (BMI 30 to 34.9) are 12 percent more at risk of death compared to normal weight women. Those in the extreme obesity category (BMI 40 and up) are 86 percent more at risk of death than the norm. The dangerous effects of extreme obesity, which formally were not fully understood, are better known due to this study.

A new debate has been swirling around the ineffective and confusing language prescribed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to doctors and parents of obese children. In the past, the CDC recommended avoidance of the word obese regarding children and teens because of its stigma. Instead the CDC advised doctors and parents to use the terms at risk for overweight, when the child is actually overweight and overweight for those who are medically considered obese. About 17 percent of U.S. children are obese, and 34 percent are overweight.

Leading health experts and pediatricians proposed a change in language-- from the current CDC terms to the more realistic terms used for adults-- indicating that the old confusing terms simply encourage denial of the widespread childhood obesity epidemic. With lifelong eating and exercising patterns learned early in life, trying to protect an overweight child by telling them they are only at risk doesn't generally inspire anyone to change and learn new habits. When does political correctness actually begin to harm those it tries to protect? While tact is a virtue, telling someone the truth in order to help them-- especially if you are their primary caregiver-- seems, without a doubt, the most responsible and caring course of action.

There is no substitute for a healthy lifestyle to protect the heart, a new U.S. study reports. Even patients prescribed high blood pressure or cholesterol reducing medication fare better if they adopt healthy habits-- proving that drugs alone are not enough to protect the heart from disease.

It is never too late to improve heart health-- even in mid-life, the study found. By eating well, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and drinking only moderately, middle-aged men on heart medication reduced their heart risk by 57 percent. Men in the study who were not on medication prevented their risk of heart disease 87 percent more with these lifestyle choices. The researchers note that while the men who practiced all five healthy habits had the lowest incidence of heart disease, the risk is cut 50 percent by not smoking alone.

The American Heart Association (AHA) advises a new set of lifestyle habits this week for heart disease prevention, including cutting calories and fats and implementing a daily exercise routine.

Americans need to cut their saturated fat intake to less than seven percent of their daily calories, and trans fat consumption should total less than one percent. Instead of eliminating fat from your diet, as was the AHA's previous recommendation, the new emphasis is on preventing further weight gain by eating lower-calorie, nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains and fish. The emphasis is on balancing caloric intake with caloric burn, which doesn't happen in front of the TV. The AHA advises us to spend 30 minutes of our tube time each day exercising-- but most gyms have TVs mounted above the treadmill area so you won't miss a thing.

A new diet study recommends high protein or unsaturated-fat rich meal planning over menus high in carbohydrates. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study claims mostly vegetable-sourced protein or unsaturated-fat focused diets can reduce the risk of heart disease. These trial diets lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels in the 164 participants, all of whom already had at least some sign of high blood pressure.   

The participants were grouped in three macro-nutrient emphasized diet categories for six weeks. Those in the protein group consumed half plant-sourced proteins such as beans, nuts and soy products. In the unsaturated-fat group, most fats were derived from mono-unsaturated sources such as olives, peanuts and canola oil. This kind of fat can actually lower cholesterol. The high carb diet focused on items such as whole grains and meat. The first two diets significantly lowered heart disease risks over the high carb diet.

The focus of this years American Medical Association (AMA) annual conference is reducing the amount of excess salt and sugar from the nations daily diet. The 544 top U.S. doctors will contend with cutting salt in foods by at least half over the next decade and taxing sugary soft drinks to fight obesity. Obesity, a result of poor diet and other factors, is a major contributor to developing heart disease.

The AMA plans to ask the FDA to place strict regulations on salt content in processed foods and fast food. State and local level taxes on soft drinks-- though opposed by the soft drink industry-- may curb consumption, as well as raise about a billion dollars in revenue to be utilized by programs promoting healthy diets and minimizing obesity-- a first in the U.S.