Weight Reduction

If every "miracle" weight-loss product really did the job, people everywhere would be cinching up their belts, gyms would become eerily quiet and TV stations would soon run out of B-roll footage of big bellies at the mall. Clearly, some weight-loss products fall short of their claims. But how can you spot the scams? The Federal Trade Commission has some basic guidelines: Don't trust any product that claims to work for everyone or anything that supposedly helps you lose more than 2 pounds in a week.

For much of his storied sports career, two-time Olympic medalist Rulon Gardner was a slave to the scale. He used rigorous, hours-long workouts to keep his weight in check and relied upon old-school wrestling tricks -- like exercising in a sauna -- to drop unwanted pounds before a competition. And when he retired from Greco-Roman wrestling -- and keeping his weight at roughly 270 pounds -- Gardner recalls thinking "I'll never have to look at a scale again. " Wrong. The 6-foot, 1-inch wrestling legend is back on the scale each week, only now he's doing it in front of millions of viewers as part of the cast of NBC's reality weight-loss show, "The Biggest Loser.

Fifty-six-year-old Lynn Kaufman of Los Angeles has maintained a healthful weight on Weight Watchers for 10 years. But she was snacking way too much on the wrong kind of stuff, she says ? like 100-calorie cookie packs and hot chocolate. Today she jokes that Weight Watchers must have been spying on her. "I think there was a video camera in my house and they said, 'We don't like the quality of the food you are eating.'" In November, Weight Watchers unveiled its new point system, PointsPlus, to its 1.3 million members worldwide.

Fifty-six-year-old Lynn Kaufman of Los Angeles has maintained a healthful weight on Weight Watchers for 10 years. But she was snacking way too much on the wrong kind of stuff, she says ? like 100-calorie cookie packs and hot chocolate. Today she jokes that Weight Watchers must have been spying on her. "I think there was a video camera in my house and they said, 'We don't like the quality of the food you are eating.'" In November, Weight Watchers unveiled its new point system, PointsPlus, to its 1.3 million members worldwide.

Weight loss surgery works, but is so invasive and has such unpleasant long-term side effects that it's recommended for only a fraction of the obese population, and even many in that group are reluctant to undergo the surgery. In hunting for a simpler and safer alternative, researchers have zeroed in on a nerve that carries much of the communication between brain and gut.

Their day begins at 6 a.m. and ends with lights-out at 9 p.m. They cannot drive cars or watch television in their rooms. Instead, they spend hours pacing the white beaches here, their world limited by the edge of the aquamarine water and the yellow lines on the paved parking lot outside their hotel. They are captives in paradise, this group of obese men and women who dwell in this small resort town.

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 boxes of alli, the first FDA-sanctioned diet drug to be sold without a prescription, were placed on the top shelf of a Santa Monica Walgreens' diet section. Four hours later, all but one had been sold. "I have never in my life experienced anything like this," store manager Roe Love, a pharmacist for 20 years, said as she eyed the empty space next to the last box of 90 capsules selling for $59.99.

For years, German doctors have prescribed an herb called St. John's wort to lift sagging spirits. Now millions of Americans have started using it to lift drooping bellies and backsides as well. St. John's wort has soared in popularity as a weight-loss supplement ever since two diet drugs were pulled from the market in September. Half of the nearly 250,000 dieters at Nutri / System weight loss centers use the herb, which shows its golden flowers at their brightest around June 24--St.

A high-fat, high-sugar diet does more than pump calories into your body. It also alters the composition of bacteria in your intestines, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it, research in mice suggests. And the changeover can happen in as little as 24 hours, according to a report Wednesday in the new journal Science Translational Medicine. Many factors play a role in the propensity to gain weight, including genetics, physical activity and the environment, as well as food choices.

After spending the majority of her 48 years trying, and failing, to slim down, Veronica Mahaffey was still 50 pounds overweight -- not morbidly obese by a long shot, but still far from the size she wanted. Worried about her health, she called a San Diego weight-loss surgery clinic last spring and asked for help. She was told no. At 185 pounds and with a body mass index of 28, the Ramona mother of four was not heavy enough to meet medical guidelines or insurance company qualifications for weight-loss surgery.

After spending the majority of her 48 years trying, and failing, to slim down, Veronica Mahaffey was still 50 pounds overweight -- not morbidly obese by a long shot, but still far from the size she wanted. Worried about her health, she called a San Diego weight-loss surgery clinic last spring and asked for help. She was told no. At 185 pounds and with a body mass index of 28, the Ramona mother of four was not heavy enough to meet medical guidelines or insurance company qualifications for weight-loss surgery.

If every "miracle" weight-loss product really did the job, people everywhere would be cinching up their belts, gyms would become eerily quiet and TV stations would soon run out of B-roll footage of big bellies at the mall. Clearly, some weight-loss products fall short of their claims. But how can you spot the scams? The Federal Trade Commission has some basic guidelines: Don't trust any product that claims to work for everyone or anything that supposedly helps you lose more than 2 pounds in a week.

A high-fat, high-sugar diet does more than pump calories into your body. It also alters the composition of bacteria in your intestines, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it, research in mice suggests. And the changeover can happen in as little as 24 hours, according to a report Wednesday in the new journal Science Translational Medicine. Many factors play a role in the propensity to gain weight, including genetics, physical activity and the environment, as well as food choices.

Diahanne McKinley stepped off the scale and shook her head in disbelief. She tried again, this time removing a head wrap -- every ounce counts, she said. But again, the number was not good. So she shifted her weight from side to side and stepped on the scale one more time, observing the digital numbers aglow below her. "I'm not happy," said the 53-year-old, fanning her eyes to stop the tears. "I'm working out four to five times a day -- morning, noon and night. I only lost one pound."

For a country in which roughly 200 million people are overweight or obese, scientists today have discouraging news: Even those who maintain a healthy weight probably should be eating less. Evidence has been mounting for years that the practice of caloric restriction -- essentially, going on a permanent diet -- greatly reduces the risk of age-related diseases and even postpones death. It has been shown to significantly extend the lives of yeast, worms, flies, spiders, fish, mice and rats.

Coca-Cola Co. and joint-venture partner Nestle agreed to pay $650,000 in a settlement with 27 states over claims that Enviga green tea burns calories, resulting in weight loss. Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal began an inquiry in 2007 seeking evidence that consumers who drink Enviga burn more calories than they take in. Blumenthal, who had said the claim might be "voodoo nutrition," led the coalition of states and the District of Columbia in the settlement.

When the rich and famous want to go organic, get in the Zone or visit South Beach at dinnertime, they can count on their personal chefs to bring together a strict diet and fine dining on one plate. For the rest of us, there's a growing number of meal delivery services that promise to keep us (and our hips) on the straight and narrow. They'll do the planning, the cooking and the portioning. They'll deliver daily meals in an insulated bag, each dish in its own plastic container.

The product: Contestants on the current season of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" have been taking a slightly offbeat approach to shedding pounds. In addition to sweating on treadmills and sticking to near-starvation diets, they've been chewing gobs of gum -- Wrigley's Extra sugar-free gum, to be exact. Product placement on reality TV is nothing new; even the castaways on "Survivor" have enjoyed regular doses of Doritos. But on "The Biggest Loser," the gum has become a prominent part of the show.

"Sometimes people don't understand it," said Ruby Gettinger by telephone from Savannah, Ga., where she lives. "I'm a very happy person. They ask me, 'Ruby, if you had to do it all over again, would you be big or small?' I always say I'd rather be big. Because I feel like I'm a better person because of it because I don't judge people. And I'm not mean. I like the person I am.

A long-running comparison of three diet plans found that the low-carbohydrate Atkins regimen and a Mediterranean diet rich in fish and nuts produced slightly greater weight loss than a low-fat program modeled on American Heart Assn. dietary guidelines.