Overweight

Imagine, for a moment, standing in front of 130 strangers and answering questions about your weight."Would each of you ladies tell me which particular euphemism -- be it 'overweight' or 'pleasantly plump' -- that you prefer when talking about your weight?" asked a man in the rear.The three women on the stage looked at one another. Then they looked at the crowd."I like the word 'obese,'" actress Wendie Jo Sperber said with a grin that made everyone laugh.LTC "I like the word 'overweight,'" chimed in Lesley Boone from beneath her orange, brimmed hat.Finally, the third woman, Susan Peretz, spoke, deadpan.

Obesity experts are turning away from diet and exercise as the sole therapy for treating overweight patients, according to doctors at the annual meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity.New drugs are showing promise in treating overweight patients, and researchers are discovering more about the genetic basis of obesity that one day may help them design more-effective treatments.Researchers now realize obesity is a problem with medical roots, said Dr. Richard Atkinson of Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Wanted: Overweight girl with a pretty face, infectious grin and indomitable spirit. Must be a "triple threat" talent - singer/dancer/actress with a powerful Broadway-caliber singing voice. Wait, we know this girl! She's Tracy Turnblad, and a nationwide casting search is under way for an actress to play her in another movie version of Hairspray. The role is one of three principal parts that will be cast in open auditions starting next week, producers announced yesterday. One thing, though.

Q: In two recent columns of yours, men referred to fat women in a disparaging manner. A 51-year-old DWM apparently felt that being fat was the worst thing a woman could be. He stated, "I've found that the majority of women responding to my ad are really overweight, and this just isn't what I want."Of course, he's entitled to his personal prejudice, but he may be throwing out a real gem. Has he looked in the mirror lately? Is his appearance perfect? You advised he should "get to know her because her inner self may be what you want."

ATLANTA - The velvet-voiced Ruben Studdard, last year's American Idol winner, has a simple plan for the holidays: to eat heartily of the down-home soul food he likes so much. "I'm gonna be in the kitchen, cookin' with my mother like we always do," he told People magazine. He'll cut back a bit on carbs, he said, but he'll indulge in everything else. "Weight has never been an emotional roller coaster for me. I like to eat." The 450-pound singer is in denial. Hasn't he heard about Luther?

It's familiar news by now that America's obesity epidemic is both dangerous and costly. Obesity significantly increases the risk of many diseases, including heart disease and diabetes, and is associated with at least 112,000 deaths a year. The economic impact is equally startling: Obese patients add an estimated $75 billion a year to the nation's medical bill. What has been less discussed and studied is the personal financial toll that obesity has on the 60 million Americans who are seriously overweight.

Obesity More problems for heavy kids Children who are overweight face more than future health problems. They appear to have broken bones and joint problems more often during childhood than kids of normal weight, research suggests. "Kids and adults who are overweight are already having problems with their mobility, fractures, and joint pain," said Dr. Susan Yanovski, director of the obesity and eating disorders program at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Like other Sprint employees, Kent Turner has adjusted to the company's new office park here on a former soybean field in a suburb of Kansas City, but he wonders why the elevators are so pokey when the buildings are new. "We believe that it's a sinister plot to get us to take the stairs," he said. Sinister, no; plot, yes. Sprint planned its 200-acre world headquarters with an eye to fitness. It banned cars, forcing employees to park in garages on the far side of a road ringing the campus and walk between buildings as much as a half-mile apart.

It's National Weight Loss Month. George Foreman is ignoring that fact as he prepares for tomorrow night's heavyweight championship fight against Evander Holyfield, but what about all those fat people he claims to represent?Is Gorge-ous George a good example or bad? Should the weight-conscious citizens of this nation rally around his cause or rebel? These were the urgent questions posed yesterday to Norma Malis, the chief executive officer of Weight Watchers in Maryland.She isn't much of a fight fan, but Norma knows diets.