2007 may be the year of vindication for fat people.

First a study at UCLA declares that diets don’t work and what is worse, are actually harmful to your health.

Now scientists announce they have discovered a “fat” gene which explains why two people leading similar lifestyles could have disparate amounts of weight. Talk to any overweight person and they will tell you they know of thin people who eat as much or more than they do and yet stay thin. Society has always chalked this up to overweight meaning lazy, but now the evidence says that is not the case.

The scientists discovered the gene, known as FTO and say the influence on the gene in weight depends on whether a person has one or two copies of the FTO gene variant. FTO is known to play a role in the hypothalamus which regulates appetite.

16% of the population have two copies of the high-risk gene, and weigh nearly 7 pounds more than those without it. Those with only one copy were found to weigh about 2.6 pounds more than those who did not have the gene variant at all.

Research into the gene variant and its effects may lead scientists one day to discover better treatments and methods for dealing with obesity.

For overweight people everywhere, it may relieve some of the guilt to know that what is in their jeans, may be in their genes.

A Common Variant in the FTO Gene Is Associated with Body Mass Index and Predisposes to Childhood and Adult Obesity

In this weight-conscious world, we are beset with numbers and formulas for optimum weight and health. Body Mass Index, or BMI, has been held as a standard for determining if you are overweight and face health risks from increased body fat. But calculating your BMI (body mass index) does not always give you a true measurement of your amount of body fat.

Research done by a team from Michigan State University and Saginaw Valley State University measured the BMI of 400 college students and found that in many cases, it was an inaccurate measurement of total body fat.

BMI doesn’t distinguish between muscle mass and fat mass. It is simply a mathematical equation using height and weight. A bodybuilder, for example, carries a lot of pounds in the form of muscle but according to BMI measurments would be overweight.

Of course, I would love to have that excuse – “It’s not fat, it’s muscle” – but alas, my doctor is unlikely to be convinced. They both bulge, but muscle doesn’t spill out over the waist of your slacks. It’s worth a shot, though. I mean, the research is out there…

Read the article at MSU

BMI calculator from National Institutes of Health

A story by the AP informs us that America’s expanding waistlines waste gas. The premise is that the more weight you put into your car, the lower the gas mileage. Makes sense, but if you gained 100 pounds you would probably only use about 18 gallons more per year.

This isn’t the only story that bemoans America’s obesity. The news is always full of stories about childhood obesity, middle-age spread and the dangers of not watching your BMI carefully enough.

The strange thing about all this focus on weight is that it doesn’t seem to be working. While fashion models get thinner and thinner, real Americans seem to be going in the other direction. It’s almost as if the more they nag us, the less we listen.

Google the word “diet” and there are more than 220 million results. Surely with all this information and all these diet options, we should all be svelte and willowy.

But in case we haven’t yet fallen into line and conformed to the image set before us, another warning rings out loud and clear: “You’re wasting gas”.

Weight Gain Means Lower Gas Mileage

“Like anyone else, there are days I feel beautiful and days I don’t, and when I don’t, I do something about it”. Cheryl Tiegs (1947 – )

There are always going to be days where we shlump around, feeling like the ugly duckling, examining our faces, bodies, and hair with a critical eye. Every now and again we deserve a day where we don’t worry about image but if you’re feeling down, there are things you can do to pick up your mood and learn to really appreciate YOU.

I found this list of Ten Steps To Positive Body Image at Loyola University. The list includes some simple wisdom and active ways you can learn to “think about new ways of looking more healthfully and happily at yourself and your body”.