"Tammy Wynette was quite wrong when she sang 'Sometimes it's hard to be a woman'. It's not. It's always hard to be a woman. Especially if you're a man." Hard-hitting journalism from The Daily Mail. [more inside]
posted by miss lynnster on Sep 20, 2007 - 55 comments

Are you HUNGRY or do you just crave the flavor? (my favorite is that Mustard is under the heading Exotic.)
posted by Phantast on Aug 17, 2005 - 29 comments

A recent study of 60 people with anorexia suggests that a biological mechanism may be a causative factor. It was found that there was a reduction in blood flow to a specific area in one of the temporal lobes in those with the eating disorder. The author of the study believes that sociocultural factors have been over emphasized. Not all agree. By way of contrast, another research group has just published findings which purport to show that "even small amounts of exposure to thin bodies can have a short-term negative effect on body image." And adult anorexia rates are said to be rising.
There's associated debate too, regarding the contributing role played by therapy that seeks to personify eating disorders. Flourishing underground online communities derive some thinspiration by referring to their 'lifestyle choices' as 'Ana' (for anorexia) and 'Mia' (for bulimia). Argentina is responding to the body image controversy by enacting a size law. previous mefi threads [via + via ]
posted by peacay on Jun 5, 2005 - 44 comments

Sick of all those fad diets? The No S Diet consists of fourteen words: No snacks, no sweets, no seconds except (sometimes) on days that start with 's'. It's sound advice and fairly easy to stick to. And what would a diet be without some exercise?
posted by bbrown on Jun 5, 2005 - 38 comments

Why did your last diet fail? If you're over thirty, over-stressed and overweight... take a look in the mirror. You've got excess fat around your waste hips and belly, right? Well diet failure is not your fault!

Surprise surprise... Relacore's representative isn't a real dietician! Who cares about that though... at least she's not as nauseating as Dr. Greg Cynaumon.
posted by catchmurray on Feb 8, 2005 - 54 comments

US and Big Sugar challenge WHO Obesity Plan William Steiger, of the US Department of Health and Human Services sent a 28-page letter to the World Health Organization on January 5th. On behalf of the Bush Administration, he writes "rigorous scientific studies do not clearly show that marketing fast foods or high calorie foods to consumers increases their risk of becoming obese. Nor do scientific studies definitively link particular foods, such as soft drinks or juices, or foods high in fat or sugar, to a higher risk of obesity." Attacking the science, protecting the status quo, it's a familiar tactic.

The WHO's efforts to combat worldwide obesity, and the reactions of US Sugar and Food Manufacturers were already discussed here last year. Now that the plan is outlined, after 3 years of work, it recommends "advising people to limit sugar and refined foods, restricting junk food marketing, improving food labeling and raising prices on unhealthy foods". The US, however, is demanding strong changes before it signs off.
posted by kokogiak on Jan 21, 2004 - 62 comments

This is the true story of what happens... when seven strangers... are picked to live in a house and have their lives taped... to see what happens when people stop being polite fat and start being real skinny. America's obsession with weight loss continues on ABC. It's the anti-Fat Project.
posted by hijinx on Oct 31, 2000 - 7 comments

The Hacker's Diet has been around for a while (since 1991), created by John Walker, one of the founders of Autodesk. There's no major gimmick, just eat less than you burn. What it does offer, though, is a handy way of keeping track of your true weight using a weighted moving average, that helps dampen the oscillations of your daily water input & output. The author made Excel charts at first, but now he offers a version for the Palm. Happily, it works on even my ancient, wussy little Palm Pilot Personal edition (512K memory). I've been using it for about a month, and lost about ten pounds so far. Your mileage will almost undoubtedly vary.
posted by beth on Jul 17, 2000 - 4 comments