According to researchers at the University of California at San Diego and Harvard, if your friends or family are overweight, there is an increased chance you are (or will be) overweight as well. A 32-year study tracked the weight records of more than 12,000 people, and found that the chances of becoming obese went up if a friend, sibling or spouse also gained too much weight – an increased risk of 57 percent, 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Researchers concluded that the participants were influenced by similar attitudes, behaviors and acceptance of obesity – in other words, you may not feel so bad about being fat if your best friends and closest relatives are fat. The researchers suggested that their findings may have implications for how to better deal with obesity – rather than treating individuals, it might be more useful to treat groups of friends and relatives together.

According to researchers at the University of California at San Diego and Harvard, if your friends or family are overweight, there is an increased chance you are (or will be) overweight as well. A 32-year study tracked the weight records of more than 12,000 people, and found that the chances of becoming obese went up if a friend, sibling or spouse also gained too much weight – an increased risk of 57 percent, 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Researchers concluded that the participants were influenced by similar attitudes, behaviors and acceptance of obesity – in other words, you may not feel so bad about being fat if your best friends and closest relatives are fat. The researchers suggested that their findings may have implications for how to better deal with obesity – rather than treating individuals, it might be more useful to treat groups of friends and relatives together.

Getting rid of your gut does more than just improve the way you look – you’ll also have a healthier heart to show for your efforts!  Cutting your carbohydrate intake by a third will help you lose fat while significantly lowering your triglycerides, a key predictor of heart disease.  Scientists at the University of California at Davis found that cutting carbs to less than 40 percent of your total daily calories deactivated a triglyceride-producing gene called stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD).  The greater the reduction in carbohydrates the less active the gene became.  Start today by switching to an open-faced sandwich or skipping bread altogether in favor of a high-fiber, high-protein tortilla like I recommend in The Burrito Diet.