Not to scare you or anything, but there's another good reason to start paying attention to your weight (as if you needed another good reason). The American Institute for Cancer Research released some scary data this month, showing that obesity could be the direct cause of more than 6 percent of all cancer cases diagnosed in the US every year. That's a total of -- get ready -- about 100,000 cases of cancer. Every year. Attributable to obesity.

More specifically, the researchers estimate that extra body fat causes 33,000 breast cancer cases a year, probably 21,000 or so cases of endometrial cancer and more than 13,000 of colorectal cancer. See, in the "olden" days, we thought fat cells were just these annoying little sponges of fat that sat there on our bodies making it tough to get into our jeans and embarrassed to get into a swimsuit, but not doing much else. We used to think these fat cells were inert. We now know that the little buggers are virtual endocrine glands, spitting out a huge array of inflammatory chemicals (like cytokines) and hormones (including estrogen!).

Fat cells are smart: They even secrete compounds that protect their interests. One such hormone, discovered in 2001, is called resistin, and it contributes to insulin resistance, a condition that makes it fiendishly difficult to lose fat. So sure, it's always good to watch your weight because of vanity. But if vanity doesn't do it for you, maybe understanding that excess fat can literally rob you of life by contributing to cancer, (not to mention heart disease and diabetes) might motivate you to take some action!

Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, has been touted for its antioxidant and even its anti-cancer properties. Naturally found in meat, eggs and dairy, especially grass-fed, it is also widely available in supplements. Now, research has found that it may also fight belly fat.

A small study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition adds to the growing body of research showing CLA may be effective at reducing fat around the middle. In the current study fifty-five obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes received either safflower oil or CLA during two 16-week diet periods separated by a 4-week "washout" period.

Women who received CLA had reduced body mass index and total fat tissue without altering lean mass. The effect of the CLA in lowering BMI was detected during the last 8 weeks of each 16-week diet period. The women taking CLA lost an average of 4 pounds of fat from around their waist area.

Source

Men and women become less fit as they age, according to a new report in the October 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

This should come with a big "duh". But it also comes with some good news.

First the not-so-good news. "The U.S. population is aging and is becoming more obese and sedentary", the authors tell us. No surprise there. But it's a vicious circle. Cardiorespiratory fitness of both sexes declines with age: two of the best indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness are body composition (fat vs. muscle) and physical activity.

The more fat you've got and the less active you are, the higher the chances of disease, not to mention the ability to function independently.

And by the way, the decline gets worse after age 45, and it's worse for men than for women.

What to do, what to do?

Researchers from the University of Houston studied about 20,000 women and men between 20 to 96(!) in a study called the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study between 1974 and 2006. The 30 years of data collected on such a large group of people offer some strong take home messages for anyone who wants to age well. (Here comes the good news.)

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.
If you happen to be the guardian (I hate the word "owner") of an animal, go to your kitchen and check the calories on the nutrition facts label for his food. I'll wait.

Back already? Surprise: There was no such nutrition facts label, was there? In fact, manufacturers never put the caloric content on the label of dog food or cat food. They do, however, tell you how many cups or cans to feed your animal companion, and guess what -- it's always more than they need. I think the exact same thing is going on with us two-legged folks.

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

I can't help but watch with a combination of amusement and sadness when I read about the billions of dollars spent each year on useless weight-loss products, programs that don't work and high-priced gimmicks that promise to effortlessly relieve the pain of being overweight -- especially when some of the best weight-loss tools in the world are both virtually free and right under our noses.

Which brings me to the subject of today's post: The apple.

Yup, the lowly, all-to-common apple, of which there are literally hundreds of varieties. They're available 12 months a year (but in season right now!), are cheap as dirt, can be had anywhere -- and they happen to be one of the best kept weight-management tools on the planet.

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Here's another reason to take weight loss seriously (as if you needed one!): Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health, the University of Toronto and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington have just published the most comprehensive study ever about how diet, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors for chronic disease contribute to mortality in the United States.

Want to know what they found? The number of preventable deaths per year in the U.S. tied specifically to obesity and overweight is (drum roll please): 216,000. Pretty stunning figure, isn't it? And, just to hammer home the point, the number of preventable deaths due specifically to a sedentary lifestyle is another 191,000.

Now, I'm familiar with the arguments about being fat and fit, and they're not without some merit. Steven Blair, the well-known director of research at the Cooper Aerobics Center in Texas defines himself as a "fat, fit guy" -- he runs more than five miles per week -- but the fact remains that being overweight raises the risk for lots of things that you don't want to have. That said, if you can't lose weight -- or if you don't want to -- at least start exercising. You can definitely decrease the odds of dying, not to mention improve circulation and mood, and even preserve your brain. Plus, even if you're not specifically trying to use exercise as a weight-loss technique, it doesn't take a whole lot to get those health benefits and take yourself out of the "high risk for dying" group. Just 30 minutes a day of brisk walking. And just as it doesn't take that much exercise to make a major difference in your health, it also doesn't take a lot of weight loss.

Photo: Getty Images

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Green tea has been heralded for years as a great addition to your diet if you're watching your weight. The evidence for tea as a weight loss companion continues to grow, but this time it's white tea in the spotlight.

The researchers took an extract from white tea and put it in test tube cultures containing human cells called preadipocytes. Preadipocytes are cells which ultimately turn into fat cells. Exposure to the white tea extract helped prevent that from happening. In a related experiment, researchers then applied the same solution of white tea extract to fully-mature fat cells and found that the extract actually stimulated fat burning in those cells, ultimately reducing their fat content.

Remember that an increase in body fat actually involves two processes: The first is an increase in the number of fat cells, and the second is an increase in the size of the fat cells themselves. If you think of fat cells as little sponges, the first process would be like getting more sponges, and the second would be like soaking them with more water. The white tea extract affected both processes.

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

Photo: Getty Images

What if I were to tell you that exercise is fairly useless for losing weight?

Now before you accuse me of heresy, let me explain. There's no doubt that exercise is one of the best things in the world you can do for your health. It improves mood -- in some studies, as well as antidepressants -- and it's great for your heart. Recent research shows that it even helps you grow new brain cells. And people who exercise on a regular basis have a lower risk for cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

But weight loss? Not so much. Does that seem contrary to everything you've heard? Of course it does -- but don't shoot the messenger. Here's the truth: The exercise/weight-loss equation is way more complicated than we've been led to believe.

Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life.

To lose weight and get healthy, get the majority of your carbs from fruits and vegetables. Photo: [cipher], Flickr

What exactly is a "low-carb" diet, anyway?

Having just finished the revised and expanded edition of my 2004 best-seller "Living Low Carb" (out in January, in case you were interested!), I've been thinking a lot recently about low-carb diets. Specifically, I've been thinking about definitions.

For years, low-carb suffered from bad publicity. Atkins -- a superb nutritionist and very smart guy -- couldn't shake the stigma of recommending "pork rinds" ( a recommendation that was taken out of context), and people who didn't know any better thought his diet forbade all carbohydrates (it most certainly doesn't).