It's not new news that people around the world are getting fatter, but what is a little new is that as a result being overweight and obese is more socially acceptable today than it was years ago. An overweight person no longer sticks out in society -- a thin person is more likely to be noticed as out of the norm. That's sad! And although I would hope people of all shapes and sizes can be accepted for who they are, it seems the more we accept obesity as 'normal' the less we'll fight it. And since obesity = health risks it's something we should be fighting.

Your heart health risk factors go up depending on your level of body fat; how much abdominal fat you carry and other health factors like high blood pressure, high LDL/ low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose, family history of premature heart disease, lack of exercise and cigarette smoking.

As part of the Obesity Education Initiative, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute offers the Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI) that calculates your body fat based on height and weight. You will then be able to compare your score against the BMI chart to determine if you fall into one of four categories: underweight; normal weight; overweight or obese.

To figure out if you are at higher heart health risk based on abdominal fat, measure your waist. For women, a waistline above 35 inches increases health risks, for men it is any measurement above 40 inches.

According to experts, even a ten percent reduction in weight can significantly begin to reduce the heart health risk factors associated with being overweight or obese. To find out what your BMI is, the Calculate Your Body Mass Index is a free tool available online to help you determine your BMI.

By Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates, one million adults and two million children have prescriptions filled each month to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The drugs are stimulants and as such, pose potential risk for heart problems, stunted growth, seizures, vision problems and psychotic behavior.

Recent decisions will now require drug makers to include a warning with the medication about the possible risk of serious health problems and sudden death.

According to the Reuters news release, Canadian health authorities have already publicly warned people with high blood pressure, heart disease and other medical problems to avoid taking medications for ADHD.

The two drugs specifically mentioned as requiring the new warning are GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Dexedrine and Novartis AG's Ritalin. There are other ADHD drugs prescribed, Johnson & Johnson's Concerta and Eli Lilly's Strattera, but it has not been confirmed if these two will also be required to carry the new warning.

The National Institute of Mental Health has published a comprehensive booklet online about ADHD that gives the reader a detailed idea of what ADHD is and might offer an understanding of why many critics state that ADHD is not only over-diagnosed but over-medicated as well.

Men in mid-life who take good care of themselves and keep off the weight are far less prone to developing heart disease -- however, if they develop erectile problems they could also have metabolic syndrome, an early developmental stage of heart disease.

The newest study found that men with body mass index (BMI) measurements lower than 25 -- which is normal weight -- who developed erectile difficulties, were twice as likely to develop metabolic syndrome. Men in the study with a BMI over 25 seemed to have no association between erectile dysfunction and the heart disease precursor. Metabolic syndrome includes such symptoms as high blood pressure, high blood fat levels, weight gain around the abdomen and poor regulation of insulin.

One-third of Americans are obese, and at least another third are overweight -- so if three-quarters of these people claimed to eat healthy and nearly half claim to exercise vigorously three times a week, then where's the weight problem coming from?

Perhaps what the 11,000 person telephone survey failed to ask was if these people perceived themselves as overweight, and thus unhealthily at risk for heart disease and diabetes. The survey definitely did not ask what or how much these people ate in a sitting -- although 28 percent reported snacking at least two times a day.

Most of the statistics in this survey turned out to be very similar between the obese or overweight people compared to the normal weight participants -- they snack and eat out only slightly more, and exercise almost as often as their normal weight counterparts. So is the question how do you define healthy eating and vigorous exercise -- or do these kinds of surveys need to be conducted in person, using a scale?

A well-balanced diet can prevent heart disease by helping maintain a healthy weight and motivation to exercise. Inadequate fruit and fiber intake has been shown to contribute to obesity, according to a new study. The diets of a group of normal-weight adults were compared to a group of overweight and obese adults to determine the composition of daily intake that may cause excess weight gain.

The results found that the obese group consumed more total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol. They also ate less fiber and complex carbohydrates than the normal-weight group. On average, the obese group ate one less fruit serving a day compared to the normal-weight group -- contributing to their lack of dietary fiber, which is strongly associated with an increase in body fat percentage.

The normal-weight participants consumed 33 percent more fiber and 43 percent more complex carbohydrates. High fiber foods are generally low-fat and low-calorie. They also slow digestion and prolong the feeling of fullness, decreasing frequency of appetite.

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.