Looking for a new, fun way to shape up that booty? How about going Bollywood?

One of this year's biggest movies, Slumdog Millionaire, isn't just bringing attention to the stars of the film -- it's also shining a bit of light on a form of fitness that's actually been around for awhile, Masala Bhangra. New York-based fitness instructor Sarina Jain is celebrating her tenth year of teaching the Masala Bhangra dance workout, and has six Masala Bhangra fitness videos out (the most recent being Back to Bollywood, which I'll be reviewing soon right here at That's Fit).

Masala means "spicy" and Bhangra is a folk dance from the northern part of India -- you can definitely see where both come into play! The workout has a bunch of celeb fans, too -- Paulina Porizkova takes Sarina's class every week, and Deepak Chopra likes the workout so much that he's had Sarina speak at his retreats. Additionally, So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Nakul Mahajan loves it, and after seeing the dance he choreographed for the show last season, who wouldn't love it, too?

Check out the video above to see what this cultural dance workout is all about, and be sure to click on the America Takes It Off badge below for more ways to shape up and lose weight!

There are a number of mandatory classes in school -- math, science, English ... and yoga? Yoga might not be a part of the curriculum for students here in North America, but in India, it's set to become a requirement.

At the regional Diabetes summit in Chennai, Indian Minister Anbumani Ramadoss says, "There should be extensive scientific deliberations on yoga. And today I blatantly put that yoga reduces diabetes, yoga reduces hypertension, yoga reduces stress. I am going to make yoga mandatory for all school-going children in India (from) the coming year."

And why not? Yoga is good for the soul and the body -- it can teach patience, kindness, fitness and body awareness to students. Maybe we should make it a requirement here. What do you think?



(via Calorie Lab)

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Authorities in southern India have initiated a new program designed to encourage residents to practice better hygiene, subsequently improving the quality and cleanliness of the area's streets.

Residents can now receive about a dollar a month for using the public urinals. In the town of Musiri, dozens have been lining up to use the facilities and collect their cash. In remote areas like Musiri, urinating in the open is not an uncommon practice. This practice, quite obviously, led to unsanitary conditions in the remote towns.

Officials are also collecting the urine and researching possible methods of using it as a crop fertilizer.

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Though smokers in India start later than in the U.S. and smoke fewer cigarettes, they're still in danger of a major smoking epidemic that could lead to up to a million deaths in the next few years. Many of those smokers are poor and illiterate, and health experts believe that picture warnings on cigarette packages may be more effective than written warnings. Tobacco companies have so far successfully fought to keep the warnings off cigarette packaging.

Though smoking bans are becoming more popular in the U.S., in India, says MSNBC, smokers light up anywhere, including school playgrounds and hospitals. Most smokers in India, according to a recent study, don't stop smoking until they fall ill. Health experts in India are taking this research seriously, but it's clear they have a long way to go.

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It's a scary thought to think about some people who wake up one day with a pain in their abdomen, having found out they had a kidney stolen. Urban legends regarding this organ thievery have been around for ages. Well, they were true, and now a kidney transplant ring based out of India is getting shut down.

The hunt started in 1993 after authorities began trying to capture Doctor Amit Kumar. The evidence is mounted against him -- upwards of 600 kidneys are known to have been stolen under his command. You may be asking yourself, who in the world would sign up to take advantage of this service?

Clientele included needy patients from five countries. Even a couple of Americans were caught on the waiting list. But what about the victims? Indians from a poor background were scammed into selling their kidneys during an alleged job interview. But there was no job for these people to have -- only robbery. Thankfully this ring is getting busted, and hopefully the investigation roots out more criminals.

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Globalization has been taking the world by storm with jobs going overseas and import/export markets booming. It's a hot topic that can sometimes spark a debate. Well add one more applicable job for the female workforce in India: commercial surrogacy. Imagine a clinic where dozens of women carry babies for people all over the place, including the United States.

These surrogate mothers eat, sleep and live together. Since 2002, this type of commercialization has been legal in India, but the government doesn't even regulate the practice. Some critics are saying this undermines the health of needy women looking to make money to support their families. After all, to be considered for the job, the women must have at least one child already.

When clients end up paying only $10,000 or less for this whole process, it becomes clear that outsourcing birth is just as competitive as any other industry. But the surrogate mothers are providing a global service for couples aspiring to build a family of their own. This comparably high compensation also provides well for their own families. Some women are making more than what others could make in 15 years! Would you consider being a commercial surrogate mother? How about contracting one?

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Americans have a long lifespan, on average, but as this article points out, that's more down to fancy medicines than actual healthy living. There seems to be this worldwide cliche of Americans being unhealthy and generally obese, and if you travel often, you'll know that it's kind of true -- we do eat more and we are lazier.

So maybe it's time that we look to other countries for healthy living inspiration. Here's where we can find it, according to Dr. Oz:

• In Costa Rica, they eat fruit ever day
• In Sardinia, the wine has 10 times more antioxidants than other wines
• In India, curry spices ward off dementia and Alzheimer's
• In Okinawa, Japan, they drink tea instead of coffee. And they only ever eat until they're 80% full
• In Turkey, Kefir (a form of yogurt) is a regular par of the diet, providing lots of healthy antibiotics.
  

What healthy habits have you learned from other cultures?

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We have a jar of Dave's Insanity Sauce in our fridge, and though the label warns that one drop is usually enough, my heat-loving husband liberally shakes the jar over his pot of homemade salsa. He likes his chili so hot that often he has to spice his own bowl separately. As much as he loves spicy food, he's never come across a ghost chili, but according to this article, he may soon get his chance.

The ghost chili was recently named the hottest pepper on the planet, with more than 1,000,000 Scoville units. (As a comparison, the Habanero chili has 100,000-350,000.) Until recently, the ghost chili was enjoyed strictly by locals living in northeastern India, and outsiders were warned against trying the pepper for their own safety. But now exporters are gearing up to share the pepper with the rest of the world, in an effort to build up this troubled region of India.

Locals claim that the pepper is a great remedy for stomach ailments and oddly, keeping cool on a summer day. I have no doubt that if it shows up in our grocery store, my husband will want to try it. What about you -- do you think you'll try the ghost chili?

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Nearly half of adult males in India use tobacco, and tobacco products are blamed for causing 800,000 deaths in the country each year. The Indian Health Ministry is fighting back with new and shocking picture warnings on all products containing tobacco. Consumers might buy a pack of cigarettes only to find themselves staring at a picture of a corpse or photos of mouth cancers. Not only that, each package will now be required to carry the image of a skull and crossbones and dire warnings such as, "Tobacco causes a slow and painful death."

Will the new packaging work? Officials hope so. With over 200 million citizens using the products every day, tobacco is a threat to the health of the country's citizens. Surprisingly, a public smoking ban, something that's becoming more common in American cities, has had little effect on India's smoking habits. However, other countries, including Australia and Singapore, have started putting pictoral warnings on cigarette packages and recent studies in Canada found that the practice got smokers to cut back or quit.

What do you think? If you smoke, would warnings like these make you think twice before lighting up?

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Sheesh. Safe sex lectures are so boring. At least that's the verdict in Mumbai, where the city's sex museum is giving HIV education a kick in the pants. The exhibit is so informative, that it's attracting hundreds of prostitutes and their regular clients.

The museum, Antarang, is the only one of it's kind in India, and lacks the pizazz of similar institutions in New or Amsterdam. Nevertheless, "A sex museum is a better place to learn about sex and everything related to it," says M.G. Vallecha, the chief of Antarang.

India has more citizens infected with HIV than any other country -- a number currently estimated at 5.7 million, that experts fear could quadruple by 2010. Officials are hopeful that the sex museum will work to combat HIV and AIDS -- allowing people to get over their inhibitions, and discuss safe sex more openly.

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