A New Jersey woman who hopes to become the fattest woman in the world got 30,000 calories closer to her 1,000lb goal with a festive feast that could have fed dozens of revellers.

The single mother-of-two tucked into two 25lb turkeys, two maple-glazed hams, 15lbs of potatoes (10lbs roast, 5lbs mashed), five loaves of bread, five pounds of herb stuffing, four pints of gravy, four pints of cranberry dressing and an astonishing 20lbs of vegetables.

After polishing off her enormous main course, she still had room for dessert and ate a ‘salad’ made of marshmallow, cream cheese, whipped cream and cookies.

Donna Simpson’s feast: The 30,000-calorie Christmas feast eaten by the world’s fattest mum in ONE two-hour sitting | Mail Online

Obesity is not just a human epidemic.

In North America, obesity has swept through our pets, as more and more animals develop weight-related diseases that were almost unheard of 20 years ago. Diabetes, osteoarthritis, tears to the anterior cruciate ligaments, heart and respiratory disease, and pancreatitis are all increasing among our four-legged friends.

“Commercial food is one of the primary causes of obesity,” said Dr. Jody Kincaid, veterinarian at the Anthony Animal Clinic. ”

For most of Mufflers life, the 10-year-old miniature pinscher has been eating table food.

“He never liked dog food,” said Susan Valdez, Mufflers owner. “We would feed him whatever we would eat. If we would go to McDonalds, we would give him Chicken McNuggets. If we would go to a restaurant, we would bring the scraps to him. He was extremely spoiled.”

All that unhealthful eating caught up to Mufflers. Mufflers — whose breed should weigh from 11 to 15 pounds — ballooned to 26 pounds. And in June, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that took his eyesight.

Ailments linked to pet weight keep increasing – USATODAY.com

Drivers who are involved in a vehicle crash are more likely to die if they are obese, says a new US study.

In a severe motor vehicle crash, a moderately obese driver faces a 21 per cent increased risk of death, while it is 56 per cent more risky for the morbidly obese.

Interestingly, underweight and normal weight drivers were found to be at higher risk of dying from a severe crash than slightly overweight drivers.

Obesity ups death risk in vehicle crashes – The Times of India

A new study published in the journal Obesity says that meal replacements might aid teens early to lose the extra pounds though they are unsuccessful in continuing to be more effective than the regular diets for long term weight regulation.

The study was headed by Dr. Robert L. Berkowitz of Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital which discovered that the early stages of dieting, meal replacements prove effective for teenagers. But in the long run meal replacements are only as much effective as the standard diets that are kept for controlling weight.

Meal replacements may comprise of meal bars, shakes and other pre-prepared food rations which have in them the determined quantities of calories and nutrition.

New researches regarding obesity | TopNews United States

Fat was once the devil. Now more nutritionists are pointing accusingly at sugar and refined grains.

Most people can count calories. Many have a clue about where fat lurks in their diets. However, fewer give carbohydrates much thought, or know why they should.

But a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbohydrates — not fat — for America’s ills. They say cutting carbohydrates is the key to reversing obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

“Fat is not the problem,” says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. “If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases.”

Scientists now saying carbs, not fat, are to blame for America’s ills – latimes.com

Researchers at Kobe University, Japan found that regular consumption of tea also suppressed damaging changes in the blood linked to fatty foods that can lead to type 2 diabetes, reports the Daily Mail.

In the study some mice were given a high fat diet and others a normal diet. Each of these two groups were then split into smaller groups and given water, black tea or green tea for 14 weeks.

Both types of tea suppressed body weight gain and the build-up of belly fat linked to a fatty diet.

But black tea, which is used in most ordinary cuppas, also counteracted the harmful effects on the blood normally associated with a high-fat diet.

Drinking tea curbs weight gain – The Times of India

McDonald’s advertised the chicken fajita as containing 2.5 grams of saturated fat but, on at least one occasion, the fast-chain chain served up the dish with 4.32 grams — about 75 per cent more than the amount of bad fat it claimed.

At one KFC location, the chicken strips packed in a total fat count of 19.37 grams, not 12 as stated by the company.

And Taco Bell’s fresco soft taco was supposed to contain 0.2 grams of trans fat — a fatty acid that consumers try to avoid because it raises the blood levels of the so-called “bad” cholesterol. But a test found the level to be 3.5 times greater at one outlet, where a taco weighed in with 0.7 grams of trans fat.

Some food chains fail to meet own fat limits

Looking beyond obvious causes of obesity like overeating, scientists said on Wednesday they may have found a gene that also plays a role, one that helped our ancestors survive famines.

Targeting this thrifty gene and others with diagnostic tests and drugs offers another way to fight the global epidemic of obesity, the researchers said.

Mice bred to lack this gene, known as CRTC3, can eat a high-fat diet without gaining weight, while normal mice on the same diet grow plump, the researchers found.

And Mexican Americans who have an especially potent version of this gene are more likely to be obese than others, Dr. Marc Montminy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California and colleagues reported in the journal Nature.

The gene did not appear to have the same effect in whites, which supports what scientists know — that obesity is very complex. But CRTC3 is clearly important.

tehran times : Too fat? Study fingers one “thrifty gene” suspect

The more obese a person is, the poorer his or her vitamin D status, a new study by a team of Norwegian researchers suggests.

The study found an inverse relationship between excess pounds and an insufficient amount of vitamin D, which is critical to cell health, calcium absorption and proper immune function. Vitamin D deficiency can raise the risk for bone deterioration and certain types of cancer.

Obesity May Interfere With Vitamin D Absorption

McDonald’s is being sued by a group of consumers and nutrition advocates who want to force the fast food chain to stop using toys to entice children to buy meals they say are unhealthy.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which filed the class action suit in a California court Wednesday, claims that McDonald’s violates the state’s consumer protection laws by using toys to market Happy Meals to young children.

The suit was brought on behalf of Monet Parham, a mother of two in Sacramento, and other plaintiffs, the CSPI said. “I object to the fact that McDonald’s is getting into my kids’ heads without my permission and actually changing what my kids want to eat,” Parham said in a statement.

CSPI threatened to sue McDonald’s in June, but the company refused to discuss ways to avoid a law suit, the group said.

McDonald’s pledged to fight the suit in a statement.

“We are proud of our Happy Meals and intend to vigorously defend our brand, our reputation and our food,” said company spokesperson Bridget Coffing. “We are confident that parents understand and appreciate that Happy Meals are a fun treat, with quality, right-sized food choices for their children that can fit into a balanced diet.”

McDonald’s hit with class action over toys – Dec. 15, 2010