While being overweight can be detrimental to your health, having a little junk in the trunk might actually be helpful.

Researchers have long known that belly fat can raise your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease. New research from Harvard Medical School suggests that subcutaneous fat -- the kind that tends to gather on hips and butts -- may actually help prevent type 2 diabetes.

This is great news if you've got a little extra bulk in your booty, but I wouldn't take this research as a green light to let yourself go. Eating healthful foods and maintaining a healthy weight is still your best defense against health issues like type 2 diabetes. AOL Health has some great exercises to help get your butt in shape. And remember, you can be fit and still keep your curves -- just check out the sexy stars below for proof.

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Why is it that so much of what we want in this world is big? Big houses. Big cars. Big jobs. Big paychecks. In the 80s, big hair. There's Big Gulps at the 7-11. And Biggie fries at Wendy's. And the big plate of loaded chicken cheese nachos that make my mouth water at my favorite Gainesville Ale House. An appetizer, according to the menu but realistically, it could feed a family of four, or more.

It's all so contradictory, you know. Because these bodies of ours, well, we want them small. Extra small if we're trying to mimic our favorite Hollywood role models. Small is good. I mean, there's this whole philosophy out there suggesting that it's best to eat simple to survive, that the more restrictive our calories, the better. Even if you don't buy into this line of thinking, there's no question that smaller is better for your health. For those of you about to get mad at me, I'm not saying everyone must be skinny small. We've already established that sometimes, fat and fit is better than thin and lazy. All I'm saying is: Smaller is better than way bigger, and we can't live big (on the food front, anyway -- bring on the big paycheck, though) and not expect our bodies to follow suit.

Here's the deal: We can't supersize everything except our butts. Just can't happen. Wish it could. Remember Morgan Spurlock and his supersize experiment? The guy gained 24 pounds in 30 days on his big diet. Downsize is what we've got to do. I did it the other night when I let the cheese nacho moment pass. Opted for a grilled salmon sandwich with wild rice instead. Saved myself a few hundred calories and a big jump on the scale. I felt a whole lot better for my decision, and my butt is thanking me for the wise choice. Yours will thank you too if you minimize the importance of everything big in your diet. Go big on other things -- get a big promotion, save a big pile of money, go for a big run right after you read this. And give yourself a big pat on the back for your big and noble diet endeavors.

Chances are you have a few mini candy bars hanging around your house -- maybe from your little ghosts and goblins who raided the neighborhood Friday night or maybe they're just left over from the gobs of goods you distributed to those who came knocking on your front door. Regardless, you've got them. Might as well eat them, right? I mean, they're mini. How dangerous can they be?

They're tricky, those mini-packs, says RealAge, and you'd be wise to get rid of them -- and fast. You're far better off taking a handful of candy from a big bag instead. Why? Because it's easier to overindulge on those Halloween-sized packages. In one recent study, people concerned about their waistlines ate more high-calorie snacks when given small bags than when given big ones.

Seems weight-conscious people view smaller portions of candy as healthier, which leads to overeating. But big bags -- well, people watching their weight are less likely to even open them. This is interesting, though: Those not concerned about gaining weight don't necessarily go overboard with small sweets. It's only the weight-concerned folks who fall into this trap. But don't think the not-concerned ones are eating any healthier -- they're just grabbing from the big bags.

And you? Are you a small snack person? Or do you go for the big bag?

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I'm training a woman right now who walked through my door several weeks ago nearing 300 pounds. I'll call her Crystal. At her morbidly obese weight, Crystal was desperate to lose about 150 pounds. One goal: To be able to sit on the floor with her kids.

Ever think your weight might spiral so completely out of control that you wouldn't be able to do something so simple? Neither did she. But it happens all the time. Here comes the great news.

Crystal found herself kickboxing with me on my heavy bag that first day. Since then, she's learned an arsenal of strikes and has been more mobile in the past three weeks than she has in the past few years. Could this be you?

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I'm always impressed by big women who say they don't strive to be ultra thin. I'm also impressed by big women who realize their size might hinder their health -- women like actress and comedienne Mo'Nique, who says she shed 25 pounds not for Hollywood but for herself and her hubby.

Mo'Nique's husband says he wants her for a lifetime. And she doesn't want to be a burden because of her weight and the problems that can result from it. So she's getting in shape, training five days per week -- her focus is on cardio and strength training -- and eating well. No more country-fried steak and fried chicken for this girl. Her new focus is on fish and baked chicken.

Mo'Nique is proud to have whittled down her weight from 257 to 232 over the past few years and to have kept at her fitness pursuits while gaining 20 pounds during her pregnancy. Impressive, indeed.

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I'm not a big breakfast eater. I like something light, like a bowl of fruit, and I never load up a plate full of morning foods. There are benefits to eating hefty helpings in the early hours of the day, though. A big breakfast helps you eat less later and can help you lose weight too. Just don't go wild. No doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, or piles of pastries. Nope, a healthy and balanced big meal is your ticket to success.

When obese dieters in one study ate a 600-calorie breakfast of protein and carbohydrates, including scrambled eggs, diced turkey, whole-wheat toast, and a banana, they lost more weight than dieters who ate only half that much. That's a good amount of calories in the AM, but it's likely this this large morning meal helped curb cravings later in the day.

RealAge offers these breakfast basics: Never skip breakfast, eat no later than one hour after you wake (even if you are not hungry), and put eggs on the table when you serve breakfast -- they really are a health food, you know.

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It might not be willpower holding you back from cutting the fat you so desperately want to lose. It may be your environment. Check out these eight big fat traps. Could they be what ails you?

Food, Food, Everywhere. Everywhere you turn, there's a food counter. Malls, gas stations, Target. My new Super Wal-Mart even has its own built-in McDonald's.

Bulk Buying. When we buy food in bulk, we eat twice as much in the first eight days. Only when quantities shrink to normal sizes do we slow our consumption.

Salting and Sweetening. Salt is often added to sweet products, and sugar to salty products. Science says this makes it harder to stop eating.

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I talked with my kids' PE teacher the other day about how my boys are doing at their physical education tasks. He told me he used seven-year-old Joey to demonstrate a push-up recently -- he keeps his back straight and perfectly parallel to the ground, which is what "Coach" wanted the other kids to see -- and how five-year-old Danny is getting better and better at jumping rope. Then he prompted Joey, who was standing by my side, with a very important question: "What are The Big Four?" he asked.

Joey was quick with his response: "Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and jumping rope."

No need for a fancy gym, says Coach, when you've got your own body and a few essentials, like a pull-up bar and a jump rope. He's right, you know. We've got the tools to work our bodies right at our disposal. We just need to get working.

The Big Four. Are they part of your exercise routine?

Would you rather be slim and in shabby shape or big and in super shape? If you wish to live longer, bigger is better.

Slimmer folks may seem to have the advantage, says Fitness magazine, but body size may have less to do with longevity than we think.

Researchers have determined that overweight people who are cardiovascularly fit tend to outlive their lanky, out-of-shape counterparts. Fitness -- all it takes is a brisk 30-minute walk most days of the week -- can decrease your risk of premature death by up to 50 percent, even for those with a high body fat percentage. Fitness also lowers the risk for diabetes, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.

More on longevity here at this AOL Body site.

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If you've got a little cush in your tush and are thinking about dropping a few pounds, you might not want to go too lean, because U.S. researchers announced yesterday that a type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may offer some protection against diabetes.

Subcutaneous fat -- the type that collects just under the skin -- seems to help improve sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar. We're not talking visceral fat -- the kind that collects in the abdomen and can raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease. It's the fat that deposits down lower that appears to shelter some people from metabolic disease.

So, not all fat is bad fat. Celebrate that pear-shape if you have one, then. And consider yourself lucky.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. 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 two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz, Why is that we feel like puking or vomiting during intense workouts? Is it a bad indication or health threat? I saw on the Biggest Loser that there were those who puked. However, I felt it just recently on my 20 minute incline treadmill workout and it gave me the creeps. Did I do something wrong? Am I supposed to have myself checked with a doctor? Thanks, Kassy

A. Hi Kassy. Thanks for the great question. There are a bunch of possible causes for your nausea, and most are not worthy of worry. Vigorous exercise takes it's toll on all the different parts of our body; not just our legs, arms and abs. It effects our respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, and digestive systems (amongst others) as well. Most of the effects of challenging exercise are great, some of the effects though are temporarily not-so-great. I found a study by Dr. R. Rafoth, M.D., The Athlete and the G.I. Tract which describes the causes of exercise induced nausea and other G.I. symptoms which I summarize below.

Some of the factors that can lead to exercise induced nausea are:

1. Presence of symptoms in a non exercising period, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

2. Age. More symptoms occur in younger athletes.

3. Gender: Women are more likely to experience exercised induced nausea, completely unrelated to ones menstrual cycle.

4. Diet: There is an increased incidence of upper abdominal symptoms in athletes who consumed:

• too big a meal too close to exercise
• fats
• hyper-tonic drinks, glucose syrups, honey/maple syrups
• foods high in dietary fiber
• high protein diets

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When it comes to growing and eating healthy vegetables, the Alaska State Fair isn't messing around. There are vegetable growing contests at pretty much every state fair around the country, but those in Alaska have an edge. The summer months in Alaska mean hyper-extended daylight hours, which means ginormously overgrown veggies -- like this 73.4 pound cabbage grown by Brenna Dinkel. In fact, cabbages do so well up in Alaska they have their own category at the fair. I really do love cabbage, but there's no way around the fact that it stinks when you cook it -- that must be one smelly neighborhood the days after the fair is over and everybody's having cabbage (lots of it!) for dinner!

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Basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal, who is known as much for his impressive game as his impressive stature (the Miami Heat center stands at over 7-feet-tall, weighs well over 300 pounds and wears a size 23 shoe), is helping a group of obese kids get into shape on his new reality show, Shaq's Big Challenge.

The hoopster, who's physique proves that being fit doesn't necessarily have anything to do with size, says that some of the biggest problems facing kids today is the amount of fast food they consume on a regular basis, the lack of mandatory physical education programs in many American schools and the fact that most would rather play video games than run around and play outside.

As this article points out somewhat hilariously, Shaq is a bit dated on his knowledge of today's gamers -- he cites Sega and Atari as two of the systems kids are going crazy for -- but otherwise all of his points are pretty valid. And as the latest talk speculates that this generation may be the first ever where kids will have a lower life expectancy than their parents due the extreme rise in obesity, it's good to know that more and more people are willing to bring attention to the situation. Check out the show's website for Shaq's Daily Drills, Shaq's Snack Attack and more.

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Last night I watched and cheered as my Alma mater's basketball team won the Big Dance. Again! It was a spectacular feat which was well earned. I've had the luxury to sit court-side at many games this year, and as wonderful as they look on television, they're even more impressive in person. I have tons of respect for this team.

The Gators are composed of incredible athletes who play selflessly every second of every game. Each Gator works hard in the gym and on the court more for the guy next to him than for himself. They are quick, agile, strong and smart. Each player is a coach's dream. Since they play for one another, they never made excuses or trained half way.

If you're looking for fitness role models, the Gators are it. If you're a parent, child, or spouse choose your precious family members as your "team". Pursue fitness as desperately as this magical team pursued two national titles in a row. You have the ability to live a champion's life of longevity and health if you put your mind to it. Live to truly enjoy your golden years with the special people in your life, and allow them to enjoy you.

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Sometimes genetics blesses us gals just a tad too much, and sometimes we earn that big chest by simply gaining too much weight. Oh yeah! Pregnancy and nursing does tons of good for the boobage too, right? Not.

So of course there are more important issues in the world, but for those in the world with an extra five pounds or more of chest...it's no fun! Too big boobs cause back, neck and shoulder pain, not to mention the other psychological issues they create. Breast reduction surgery is sometimes the only legitimate option for a drastic reduction in breast tissue, but often it can be controlled in another way. Plastic surgery is extremely pricey, and has all sorts of risks and side effects that go along with it, so it shouldn't be taken lightly.

If too big boobs or droopy boobs are your issue you may want to jump on the fitness band wagon, cause getting down to and maintaining your ideal weight may just do the trick. If you are overweight or over fat, lose it! Extra weight on the scale means extra weight everywhere, including your breasts. Get down to your ideal weight. Don't aim to be only 20 pounds overweight. Get down to the real deal best weight for you. I promise your chest will shrink some and so will the pain in your back.

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