Women who are overweight face many health risks, such as heart disease and type II diabetes. And Martha recently told us how overweight women tend to be more impulsive. But overweight women face some risks you might not expect:

• Being fired. Could it be because people who are overweight have a higher rate of absenteeism? Or is it because of a prejudice? It's hard to pinpoint the reasons why, but medical research shows that overweight women run a higher risk of losing their jobs.
• Being the victim of a crime. Overweight women run a greater risk of being victims of crimes. They're also more likely to become criminals.
• Financial woes. Overweight women are more likely to find themselves broke.

It's a chicken and the egg situation, really. Is a woman's weight causing these negative life events or are the negative events causing stress that leads to overeating and obesity?

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Spend too many late nights watching CSI and Law & Order? If you're overweight, these shows might be to blame. Over at Fitsugar, they're talking about new research that shows an interesting connection between your TV habits and your eating and spending habits.

The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, found that consumers who had recently been reminded of their own mortality by seeing death on TV spent more money on groceries -- and ate more of those groceries as well. These findings were true of a number of food items, including snack foods like chips and soda, as well as non-snacky groceries like frozen foods, meats and vegetables. For more information on the findings, click here.

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On May 21, I wrote about a rape that occurred in a neighborhood in my city. A young woman, 36, with a husband and two small children, was running near her home on a usually well-populated trail at 6:30 AM when a man brutally attacked and sexually assaulted her. The police are calling it one of the worst attacks they've ever seen.

Since my last post, law enforcement officers have been hunting down lead after lead. The community is rallying -- watch this video for proof -- and it's become more clear than ever that right here in Gainesville, Florida, bad things happen, which means we all must look out for our own safety. We must not get comfortable and forget what happened in this case, because just as we do, we may become victims ourselves.

In the spirit of exercise and safety, I offer you these crime prevention exercise tips, featured on a website created to inform area residents about the ongoing investigation regarding this horrible crime.

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Hard work got you down? Feeling tired? Stressed out? Hmmm. Lots of us are. In response, most folks take a nap, get a massage, or check out a movie. My good friend Art Adkins took a different route for stress relief though. Instead of just chilling out, he wrote and published a book! Ever think of doing that? I thought it was a pretty cool concept.

Art is a Sergeant with the Gainesville Police Department in Florida and a former LAPD Sergeant as well. He's spent 27 long years in law enforcement and to him, creating a murder mystery involving the criminals and cases he's been involved in for decades became his escape. The Oasis Project is a clever and exciting tale of a family's murder and the secrets surrounding it. Art brings the case to life in the way that only a true law enforcement officer can do.

I'm impressed that in efforts to just relax, Art put his mind to work. Where many people choose TV time as the decompressor of choice, Art kind of took on a part time job. Is there something productive you can do when you're frazzled? Maybe you could quilt, scrapbook, write or woodwork. Maybe you can create some extra income for yourself while you're doing it too! The Oasis Project is not only a fun and exciting read, it's a little bit of motivation for the rest of us to do even better.

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There's not much sense in working so hard to take care of yourself and live a healthy life if you can't protect yourself from a thug in the street, right? As cities get bigger and the population grows so does the number of criminals, which means that anymore self defense is a real necessity.

Here's a great article on the basics of self-defense, plus some tips on finding a good class in your area. There are different ways the concept can be approached and taught, but many see it as breaking down into four basic areas (CAAP):

• Confidence
• Awareness
• Avoidance
• Preparation

I've never taken a class but am interested in doing it. Do you think it's worth it really? Has anybody out there ever actually had to use their self-defense skills?

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Crime is growing every day it seems, and according to the news there's really nothing but violence happening on the street these days. There are many differing opinions out there on why this is, but one consensus is that it's simply a side-effect of population growth. More people = more lawbreakers.

Regardless of why, it's important to know how to protect yourself so you don't become somebody's next victim. I came across this article that gives tips and advice on what to do in different situations like being on the street at night, going to a bar, going to a show, and when you're in the car alone. You can never be too careful! And although being prepared and alert won't stop all crime, it will help a lot.

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