Although the United States clearly takes the cake (and devours every last piece of it) as the fattest country in the world, there are many European nations who also seem to be indulging a bit too much these days.

Tipping the scales with an average Body Mass Index (BMI) of 28 is -- well, that's us here in the good ol' U.S. of A. Not far behind, however, are the following nations:

~ Italy: 24.3 (The pasta diet - "I never walk pasta good meal!")

~ France: 24.5 (These 'Francy' eaters are chowing on their namesake fries and toast a bit too often)

~ Poland: 24.8 (Sausages Warsaw being eaten by the dozen)

~ Netherlands: 24.9 ("Hollandaise Me")

~ Belgium: 25.1 (Also known as 'Bulgium')

~ United Kingdom: 25.4 (United under what king? The Burger King?)

~ Hungary: 25.6 (Not anymore)

~ Finland: 25.8 ("F" inland, it's time to start jogging to the outer land, too)

~ Greece: 25.9 (Enough said)

BMI plays a crucial role in our cardiovascular health and risk for metabolic syndrome. Clearly, the growing waistline problem is not limited to the borders of the United States, making this a global problem.

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When I was pregnant, every time a commercial for anything Burger King related came on, I'd turn to my husband and say, "Will you please go get me a Whopper?" I wasn't hungry, but boy did those commercials make me want to eat a food that a minute earlier hadn't even crossed my mind. (Lucky for me, he usually said no, but was happy to fix me a snack.)

Researchers in the UK recently discovered that commercials have a similar affect on children, especially those struggling with obesity. After showing 60 children a series of food commercials and cartoons, researchers monitored their food intake. The results, I think, are stunning. Obese children increased their food intake 134%, overweight children 101%, and children of a normal weight, 84%. The study also found that the higher a child's weight, the more likely they were to choose high fat foods, such as chocolate.

Children in the United States spend an average of 50 hours a year watching TV commercials, the vast majority of which are for unhealthy foods.

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Though this experiment is hardly surprising, it is interesting to read. Two UK women -- with generally healthy lifestyles -- drastically changed their habits for two weeks and reported their results.

The first, an occasional drinker, began drinking at least a bottle of wine every night. She quickly developed flaky skin, headaches, mood swings, and dull hair. The second, who normally ate a healthy diet, began binge eating and added about 2000 empty calories to her normal diet. She complained of stomach cramps, bloating, greasy hair, and dull skin.

This is basically the "Supersize Me" effect, watching a healthy person's health deteriorate when they take on bad habits to the extreme. A more interesting experiment, in my opinion, would be to take a heavy drinker and a binge eater and put them both on a healthy diet for two weeks and then compare results. It's no secret that too much of anything, whether food or drink, isn't good for us, but hearing how quickly our bodies respond to good health habits would be a powerful motivator. What do you think?

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Here's a debate we may be seeing more of if we can't slow the trend of childhood obesity. An 8-year-old boy British boy may be removed from his family today because authorities feel his family isn't doing enough to help him lose weight. At 14 stones (196 pounds) the child is morbidly obese, and his doctors fear that he faces imminent health problems, and even his family admits he has difficulty walking.

The family is condemning authorities, saying they weren't given enough direction or support to help the boy lose weight. They also say that, though he lost 14 pounds over the last year, he should have lost much more based on his diet.

The family says they'll be devastated if authorities remove him. Child protection authorities claim that he'll be unhappy, unhealthy, and that his care amounts to child abuse. Either way, it's a heartbreak for everyone involved. What do you think? Should his parents be given more support to help him lose the weight? Or should he be removed for his own safety?

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Are you on a diet right now? If so, you're not alone; a recent poll in the UK found that the average British women spends a lifetime total of 31 years on a diet. And before you start feeling left out, gentlemen, the average British man spends 28 years slimming down.

I really think this finding says a lot -- and not necessarily about weight loss. It makes me wonder about two different things: 1) How many of us say we are on a diet, when we really aren't? Have we created a "diet culture" where we're perennially claiming we're on a diet, even if we're going home at night and quietly eating Ben and Jerry's in front of the TV? and 2) Are we having trouble with the distinction between dieting and a healthy diet?

I ask these questions, because WOW that seems like a lot of years to spend on dieting. And if those numbers aren't artificially inflated by the things I mention above, then those findings just make me really sad. Are we really spending over 1/3 of our lives fighting the battle of the bulge?

One fact that brightened my day -- most British women reported that they dieted to improve their appearances. No, that's not what made me smile, it was the fact that when asked what they thought was the ideal body type, they didn't pick supermodel svelte. Instead, they chose curvaceous women like Marilyn Monroe. So even if we're spending far more time "dieting" than we really should be, at least we're choosing realistic role models.

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What came first, the genetically modified chicken or the...oh, never mind. It doesn't matter which came first, what matters is that UK researchers have made a possible breakthrough in cancer treatment using chicken eggs.

These genetically modified hens are laying eggs with cancer fighting proteins in them. Known as "pharming," researchers collect the proteins and use them to make treatments for diseases. One type of egg contains miR24, a protein that fights malignant melanoma. Another produces human interferon b-1a, which stops the replication of viruses.

Chickens were used because of their inexpensive, quick, and simple reproductive cycle. One genetically modified rooster can be mated with hundreds of hens, who can lay one genetically modified egg per day. In a short amount of time, generations of these chickens can be created and started on egg production. Since the cancer fighting proteins are found in the egg whites, it's a fairly simple process to extract them.

More time is needed to develop the process and then put it to the test, and it'll be 5-10 years before we see an actual drug from these chickens being used.

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Shoppers in the plus-sized section of United Kingdom department stores may find an extra tag on their clothing, if a team of experts writing in the British Medical Journal have their way. The tags -- which would have a weight loss helpline number printed on them -- would be placed in all clothing with a waist size larger than 40 inches for men, and in anything size 16 or above for women. I think this idea is absurd, as well as demoralizing and insulting to the intelligence of overweight shoppers.

However, the group did manage to come up with more reasonable ideas to help reverse the ever increasing trend of obesity in their country. Marketed mainly to children, and placed directly at their eye level, the group would like to see candy bars and sugary snacks removed from grocery store aisles and checkout lanes. Health screenings for children leaving primary and secondary schools, as well as only allowing new urban roads if they had adjacent bicycle lanes, also topped the list.

Believing that just advising people to exercise and eat right will not do enough to reverse the obesity epidemic, the group's aim was to give "help, advice, and sympathy" to those struggling with obesity. I think their hearts and minds were in the right place. But I still can't get past printing a help line number on plus-sized clothing. Shopping is hard enough, without your clothing telling you that you need help!

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