A British study points to excess sodium as being a "hidden factor in the obesity epidemic" (quote: Graham MacGregor, a co-author of the study). The theory being that salty foods make kids thirsty, after which they reach for a high-sugar, high calorie drinks. The cycle continues, resulting in inevitable weight gain.

This hypothesis is peculiar to me. Whether it is the study itself, or the media's propensity for skewing the message in favor of alluring headlines, there is more to the story of childhood obesity than salt. Not to undermine the potential dangers of high sodium intake, but we need to look at the whole forest here.

While I agree with the study's authors that restaurant and big food should work towards lowering the sodium content of their food

Does this scenario look familiar to anyone? After sticking rigidly to my diet for weeks, I "cracked" and scoffed an entire stick of garlic bread with a tub of onion and garlic dip.

At least the vampires kept away that night...

The body and mind react badly to several weeks of "perfect" dieting. Constant low-level hunger makes you crave food, and forbidding anything makes it perversely more desirable. Weeks of deprivation lead to grabbing the nearest high-fat, high-calorie foods and digging in. So, what can you do to break the pattern?

You're staring at a pile of chocolate wrappers, crisp packets and biscuits crumbs. You feel horribly stuffed, and a bit sick. And you feel awful because you've "broken" your diet.

There is absolu

The wedding and weight loss industry is a match made in heaven.

According to Newsweek the cost of the average American wedding is now approaching $30,000. It seems that part of that package is weight loss - no matter what the cost.

Sure, every bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day - but is there is a serious case of denial going on here? Does a culture of bridezillas mean anything goes?

A recent study in Appetite found that 70% of engaged women were trying to lose more than 20 pounds for their wedding day. While most tried to eat right and get exercising, more than 20% of the women chose extreme methods: starvation and fasting, liquid diets, laxative abuse. Some of the women even took up smoking and tried vomiting after meals.

So

Andrew Christian fashion has the perfect underwear for you:

The Flashback Butt Lifting Technology Boxer.

So guys, add a "bubble-butt" to those rippling abs and chiseled pecs.

Vanity knows no bounds.

via Gawker

There are a large number of sites out there that connect users with each other and enable people to collaborate their information.

Here is a collection of sites that specialize in the area of health, fitness, and diet.

First up - a big shout out to Israel Lagares - a Diet Blog reader who has created a new information site HealthRanker. HealthRanker allows users to vote for interesting stories or articles (in a similar manner to other sites such as Digg or Reddit).

Fitness