weight news stories on Newser

Black Women Heavier, Happier With Bodies

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:31:00 CST

Hefty can be heavenly. That seems to be the feeling of many black women. While they tend to be heavier than white women, they're significantly happier with their bodies, a Washington Post / Kaiser Family Foundation survey has discovered. While only 41% of average-sized or thin white women report having...

How Much Does the Internet Weigh?

Mark Russell — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:50:05 CST

How much does the Internet weigh? No, it's not a Zen koan. The answer is about 1.8 ounces, around the same as a single strawberry, reports the Telegraph . How did anyone figure this out? Well, the Internet runs on electricity, and electrons have a tiny amount of weight—so...

Freshman 15? It's More Like Freshman 3.5

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:10:48 CDT

Good news for the 18-year-olds of the world: All that pizza and, uhh, those Solo cup-housed beverages you consume this year probably won't actually add the dreaded "Freshman 15" to your frame. A national study has found that the typical female student gains only 2.4 pounds during her freshman...

LeAnn Rimes Explodes Over Weight Comment

Kate Schwartz — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:21:15 CDT

It's tough being skinny. Just ask LeAnn Rimes. The singer has been the subject of much too-thin chatter (which she has addressed on Twitter ), and it doesn't show signs of letting up. The Huffington Post reports that Rimes "blew up" on Twitter following dinner with hubby Eddie Cibrian in...

To Honor Women, Pepsi Launches... Skinny Can?

Kate Schwartz — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:54:05 CST

It's Fashion Week in New York, and Pepsi is debuting a new design of its own: a skinny can. Sounds harmless enough, until you read the press release accompanying the slender product. "In celebration of beautiful, confident women, Diet Pepsi presents the taller, sassier new Skinny Can…" Ouch. "Got that,...

More Than 10% of Planet's Adults Obese

Matt Cantor — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:28:05 CST

Almost half a billion adults—10% of the adult population worldwide—were obese as of 2008, a new study finds. That’s nearly twice the 1980 rate, reports Scientific American . On average, each decade has seen a body mass index inch up 0.4 to an average of 23.8 in...

Women Think About Food More Than Sex

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:54:05 CST

Women think about food a lot—as in, more than they think about sex. A recent survey shows that while 25% of women think about food every half-hour, only 10% think about sex that often. When it comes to men, 5% think about sex once a minute and 36% find...

Study: Time for Fat Crash Dummies

Matt Cantor — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 13:27:42 CST

Obese people face a much higher risk of death in car crashes—so doctors say we should be building overweight crash test dummies, the Daily Mail reports. A study of more than 150,000 US car crashes found that moderately obese people were 21% more likely to die in car...

Parents Forcing Chubby Babies to Diet

Kate Schwartz — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 19:02:06 CST

Chubby thighs and squeezable cheeks are the sign of a healthy baby, right? Not for some parents, who are foisting their own weight obsessions and fears on their infants, reports ABC News . "I have seen parents putting their infant and 1-year-old on diets because of history in one parent or...