Britpop signer Lily Allen has generated lots of controversy over her ever-changing waistline. It seems that she's finally being upfront about her weight -- she claims her weight is the result of a health problem. Allen was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur, and the health scare has caused her to change her habits for the better.

Says Allen, "I used to love nothing more than sitting in front of the telly with two packets of Ginger Nuts and two bags of milk bottle sweets - and I'd devour the lot. But this heart thing has made me cut back on all that kind of cr*p. I now find that, because I am looking after myself, I don't feel like eating the bad stuff so much."

I'm glad to hear that she's lost weight for her health, and not just to fit in with other skinny celebs. What do you think?

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That physical you keep telling yourself you're going to get? Hasn't happened yet, has it? Despite the new year's resolutions we make to be healthier, and hopefully happier, we can't seem to make it to the doctor. Considering physicals these days are relatively quick and painless compared to the trips to the doctor we made as children wherein all we looked forward to was the possibility of a lollipop, it would seem like a no brainer to just make the appointment and go.

The primary excuse I hear (and give myself) for not going is that most of the time they turn up nothing, which stirs up the complaint that they're a waste of time. While that is one perspective, I'd rather be told that absolutely nothing was wrong than receive bad news. If anything, a physical resulting in a clean bill of health should be a reward for hard work of eating healthfully, exercising and striving for well being.

Yes, there are those times when a physical turns up something less than savory that can lead to other tests and possibly procedures. Wouldn't logic dictate that surfacing the issue allows as much time as possible to remedy the situation? Getting a physical every year at the same time can greatly reduce the possibility of something amiss going unchecked and untreated.

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