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: Hachimaki, Flickr

Over the last few years, a great deal of information has been uncovered about how the tobacco companies knowingly engineered their cigarettes to become more addictive, usually by adding chemicals to cigarettes that increase the addictiveness of nicotine and keep smokers hooked. What if the food industry was doing the same thing?

According to Dr. David Kessler, that's exactly what food manufacturers have been doing for years, and that's at least partially responsible for the epidemic of overeating and obesity we're now witnessing.

Kessler, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, has written a terrific and compelling book called "The End of Overeating." The book makes several arguments:

1. Food has been "engineered" to contain various combinations of fat and sugar and salt that have never before been found in the human diet.
2. These combinations -- particularly fat and sugar together -- are designed to stimulate brain chemistry in a way that makes it virtually impossible to resist these foods (Remember "betcha can't eat just one"?).
3. These foods "amp up" the neurons in the brain, getting them to fire more. "The message to eat becomes stronger, motivating the eater to act more vigorously in pursuit of the stimulus," he writes.
4. The most important goal of food "design" is not nutrition but to create a feeling of anticipation and desire by activating the pleasure centers of the brain.
5. Once the pleasure centers of the brain have been "hijacked" by these foods, our desire for them no longer has anything to do with hunger and more resembles addictive behavior than anything else.

Now there's a lot more to the book than that, and I strongly recommend that you read it. But a few points that Kessler makes are worth mentioning here.

Renee Zellweger always looks trim but lately, she's been looking pretty fit too. And Dave Letterman is noticing.

The Late Show guy asked the beautiful actress recently how she looks so good, and Renee revealed her secret: Running.

FitSugar has the scoop on Renee's love of the run. Could it be an addiction? Therapy? Or both? Read here to find out.

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One of the easiest ways to cut calories and sugar from your diet is to give up your soda habit. But for one Swedish woman, asking her to quit drinking Coke is like asking her to quit breathing. She took drinking soda to an entirely new level -- from bad habit to total addiction.

Addicted to Coca-Cola? Really? Yes, really.

In fact, the woman, who also happens to be deaf, had to go through legal channels to have her addiction recognized. An appeals court recently ruled that she be hospitalized for her addiction to Coke and food, due to her uncontrolled high blood pressure and diabetes.

People joke all the time that they're addicted to their favorite foods. Though they may not be an addiction in a true sense, cravings can be a very powerful thing. Check out the gallery below for tips on how to keep them under control, and when cravings do strike, try substituting one of these low-cal snacks instead.

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Everyone's favorite train wreck celebrity Amy Winehouse seemed to be getting it all together. A short while ago, she jetted off to the Caribbean for some much-needed R and R and soon after touching down admitted that she was off drugs and loving life. Then, in one of the most shocking celebrity new stories this year, photos were snapped of her doing something fitness-y when she participated in a grueling gymnastics session. Could this be the beginning of a newer, fitter, healthier Winehouse?

Not so fast -- first, her boyfriend went back home to England, then -- not surprisingly -- her husband filed for divorce and next thing we knew, she was snapped crawling on the ground begging people to give her cocktails after getting cut off at the bar. Now, if that's not class with a capital 'C', I don't know what is.

Is there any hope for Amy? I don't know about you, but I certainly have my doubts.

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Inspired by Bethany's Walking the Walk post, several of my fellow bloggers and I have been trying to ditch the sugar habit.

I started on my low-sugar plan just before New Year's. I wish I could say it was easy, but it wasn't. I thought that once the temptations were removed, I wouldn't crave sugar ... but I did. Oh, how I craved it. Now, however, several weeks in, it's easier. And I feel better ... more energetic.

Do you think you can go without refined sugars? Why not give it a try tomorrow along with many other people? Tomorrow, January 16th, is the Great Worldwide Sugar-Out Challenge. If you need some inspiration, check out some of these success stories.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz! You always say that drinking calories causes weight gain, so I'm willing to try kicking my habit. I'm completely addicted to Coke. There are all sorts of programs to help people stop smoking, but none for cutting back on soda. Help! Brian

A. Thanks for the terrific question, Brian. I'm so glad you've been paying attention! Yes ... caloric beverages such as soda, juice, milk and alcohol are definitely responsible for much of the extra fat folks are carrying around. As an example of this, I once did a series of lectures for a large fire department in my area. I referenced the huge fountain drinks I always saw the firefighters driving around with and showed them how much sugar was in each cup. As their jaws dropped, I challenged each of them to, at minimum, switch to diet soda and, at best, switch to water.

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Those of you who have vowed to give up smoking in the new year are finding out firsthand that quitting is a bitch. In fact, most ex-smokers will tell you that giving up the habit is the hardest thing they've ever done. If, like me, you never started the nicotine habit, you're probably thinking you've dodged a bullet. Not so fast: Scientists out of New Zealand are insisting that sugar and other refined carbohydrates are as addictive as tobacco.

"Drug addicts have to keep taking larger amounts of their chemical of choice," says Simon Thornley of the Auckland Public Health Authority. "They find it difficult to stop, they keep doing it despite negative consequences and they feel depressed if they do stop. People do all those things around refined carbohydrates."

So are we going to start seeing grotesque photos and huge health warnings on packets of Twinkies any time soon? Will sweets be stashed behind the counter at stores, available only to those with valid ID? More research is needed, but I'd say it's a definite possibility.

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Sugar bingeing can lead to sugar addiction, a new study finds. As for reactions to the news? No one is surprised, least of all me, currently recovering from a binge of my own while on vacation at one of those all-inclusive resorts in Mexico. Oh, Pina Coladas, how I miss thee.

Anyway. The study monitored the effect of sugar bingeing on behaviour in mice, and the ultimate conclusion drawn was that after a sugar binge, absence made the heart grow fonder. Furthermore, when the sugar was taken away, folks actually went into withdrawal -- teeth chattering and all. Evidently, a sugar binge changed the chemistry of their brain for good. Scary stuff, huh?

So is there any hope for those of us who are trying to change our sugary ways? You can break the cycle of addiction. There's only one way to do it, man -- cold turkey.

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Day 1: The leftover Halloween candy is the first thing to go, followed by the homemade chocolate chip cookies. I suspiciously eye the few other treats left in the cupboard that belong to my husband and kids. They don't tempt me now, but if they start to ... they're out of here.

What I notice almost immediately is that telling myself I can't have sugar makes me want it more. I'm not used to telling myself no. Whether sugar is physically addictive remains up for debate, but it certainly feels like a psychological addiction to me.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I have enough willpower to see me through my cravings.

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Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

My Dad, a recovering addict, used to say that while he was inside staying clean, his addiction was waiting out in the parking lot doing push ups. I watched his recovery from drugs the last seven years of his life. He kept it true by staying far, far away from the people, places and things that would reignite his addiction. No more crack houses or dark alleys for him. When he decided to get clean, he changed every route he traveled because he knew he was one step away from relapse.

My crack house can be a supermarket, a restaurant, a corner store or a vending machine. How do I avoid that? I was in the supermarket on Saturday and was admittedly unprepared. I am usually the chick in line armed with coupons and a list. This being an unplanned trip, I had no time to prepare. I started out strong in the produce section. Fresh grapes, spinach and lots of other things that would just thrill my nutritionist Keri. But in the same visit, I managed to bring home things that would also make her gag. I promise my intent was good but before I knew it, I'd gone astray and my diet was derailed.

I ate red velvet cake this week. Not just ANY red velvet cake but Lola's Sunday gospel brunch red velvet cake. It was so good it took a few days for guilt to come, but it did come. I ate cookies this week. I ate a candy bar this week. I even ate a throwback. No, not a jersey but old school Now & Later candies in my favorite flavor, banana. I have no excuse for these indulgences or why I let them go so far. My best guess is I bumped into my addiction while I was in the supermarket and it was just like old times. Suddenly, the things I've intentionally avoided for so long were passing me by on the conveyor belt to be bagged for my trunk to my fridge to my new midsection. As smart as I can be is as silly as I can be. How do you make it right after you've embarked so deeply on wrong?

Who drinks the most coffee and smokes the most cigarettes? Not your average American, says a new study. It's those recovering from alcoholism who drink more than four cups of coffee per day and smoke much more than their non-recovering counterparts.

Why the fondness for coffee and cigarettes? Study participants said they rely on coffee to wake them up and cigarettes to help them deal with negative moods.

Researchers say they are looking at whether changes in coffee and smoking habits are predictive of alcoholics' ability to stay in recovery. Initially, they think coffee may actually aid in recovery while smoking may hinder it.

For more about this Vanderbilt University study, click here.

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Jamie Lee Curtis is turning 50 and reports that she feels better than she ever has. Perhaps it's the lessons she's gathered through her ups and downs that have primed her for this prized place in life. Here are some thoughts regarding her half-a century milestone.

• Turning 50 used to mean being put out to pasture, says Curtis. Not anymore. This leading lady feels more vibrant and is more active than ever.

• With age comes wisdom, and Curtis has wised up the the fact that she no longer needs to worry about how perfect her figure is. She encourages women to accept their bodies and the beauty of aging naturally.

• Baring her soul helps her come clean, and the now-sober Curtis says, "When you gain sobriety in the middle of your life, you're really reborn."
  
  

• As her big birthday approaches, Curtis, also an author of children's books, says she is happy to have "dropped the rock -- the rock of addiction, of family, of comparisons with other people." It's about being fit and focused and furious, she says.
  
  

Well said. And happy birthday to you.

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This morning I had to talk to my son about his latest little escapade -- putting a huge wad of gum down the garbage disposal. I spent a good half hour risking limbs while cleaning up that mess. Yet when I talked to him about it, he barely seemed to listen much less apologize sincerely. I finally had to request an apology -- and the one I got was insincere. (Grr.) As a punishment, he has to do extra chores to "make up the time" that I spent fixing the disposal. He wasn't phased by that at all.

So I know how it feels when you try to discipline your child and you know that you're not getting through. Rachel over at ParentDish has written about extreme measures parents have taken to get through to their kids. Recently, a Spanish couple has taken their own extreme measure -- they had their kids admitted to a mental health institution to be treated for their addiction to their cell phones.

The kids, ages 12 and 13, were having a hard time in school and completing other activities because of their phones. In addition, they were lying to relatives in order to get money to spend on their phones. They had had their phones for 18 months. Before recognizing that it had become a problem, their parents hadn't restricted their cell phone use.

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While some debate its efficacy, marijuana has been sparingly prescribed for certain conditions for many years now. It has exhibited some ability to help manage pain, reduce ocular pressure for glaucoma patients, reduce nausea from chemotherapy, and help with AIDS-related wasting syndrome. But, besides the potential addictive qualities, medical marijuana also can cause some loss of memory.

Scientists may have found a way to harness the medical benefits of marijuana without some of the side effects. The psychoactive compound in marijuana is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC has positive benefits such as relieving pain and anxiety but can result in cognitive problems. In fact, patients on marijuana therapy are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in the long run. In a lab study on mice, scientists have found that organophosphorus agents (OP) had the same positive effects as THC without the downsides. Much more research is needed before this finding could be applied to humans.

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Genetics may be to blame for hooking some people on cigarettes. Genetics may make some smokers more prone to lung cancer too, say three new studies. This is the strongest case so far for the biological foundation of nicotine addiction.

Scientists have pinpointed genetic variations related to smoking that could one day lead to screening tests and customized treatments for those trying to kick the habit.

The gene variations, which govern nicotine receptors on cells, could help explain some of the mysteries of chain smoking, nicotine addiction, and lung cancer -- like why a 90-year-old lifetime smoker never gets cancer, why some people can occasionally light up and never get hooked, and why some people have such a hard time quitting.

Initially, researchers are pretty certain that a smoker who inherits these genetic variations from both parents has an 80 percent greater chance of lung cancer than a smoker without the variants. That same smoker tends to light up two extra cigarettes a day and has a much harder time quitting than smokers who don't have these genetic differences.

The three studies, funded by U.S. and European governments and published Thursday in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics, looked at more than 35,000 white people of European descent in Europe, Canada, and the United States. Blacks and Asians will be studied soon.

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