Seborrheic Eczema : Risk Factors

Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word stressor has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. Is it primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions, or is it an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor; or is it both?

Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or anxious. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension or fear. The source of this uneasiness is not always known or recognized, which can add to the distress you feel.

In this report you'll learn about a multitude of techniques that can help reduce stress, including breath focus, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, yoga, massage, and more.

Everyone feels stress from time to time. It's a fact of daily life. Stress has its upside, but too much of it can leave you feeling out of control. And chronic stress can have negative consequences on your health.

Disturbance in the physiology of the individual. Among psychologists and psychiatrists, stress refers to a psychological reaction within the person to events that generate strong emotion that cannot be easily regulated; for other social scientists, the term stress is used to describe a disturbance in the individual's physiology. These two definitions of stress are not identical. For example, a fall from a tree that leads to a broken arm creates physiological changes in a child that would be regarded as stressful, for there is a cascade of biological events that occurs in such an act of harm to the child. However, many children who have had such falls are not necessarily psychologically upset, anxious, or fearful, even though there was a physiological stress reaction. On the other hand, a child who believes his parent does not like him, experiences rejection from a friend, or is feeling guilt over violating a moral standard will experience unpleasant psychological feelings that disrupt ordinary functioning. That disruption is a result of a psychological stress. This definition of stress need not involve any strong cascade of physiological changes, as occurred in the fall that leads to a broken arm. Nonetheless, psychiatrists and psychologists would say in the second instance that the child was experiencing stress. A problem with understanding the effects of either physiological or psychological stress more completely is that there are no sensitive techniques to ascertain the private reactions that are occurring in the child's body or mind. Many scientists make the assumption that certain events will produce stress in the child, recognizing that in some cases the event will not be stressful. For example, most sociologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists assume that death of a parent, marital strife, separation and divorce, abuse, rejection by a close friend, and chronic failure in school will create stress in the child. Although this assumption is reasonable there is no one-to-one relationship between the occurrence of those and similar external events and a physiological or psychological reaction of stress within the child. Hans Selye is credited with introducing the importance of the concept of stress. Selye discovered that if an individual is under chronic physiological stress there are permanent changes that occur in the body leading to a compromised immunity and a reduced resistance to many forms of disease. Thus college students who are stressed during final examination periods will show a lowered resistance to getting colds and other minor infectious diseases.

Knowing the causes of your stress will help you find ways to manage it.

Sometimes no matter how hard and fast you work, you miss your deadline, adding to your physical and emotional stress.

Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. Since the 1990s, however, the word stressor has been used for a stimulus that provokes a stress response. One recurrent disagreement among researchers concerns the definition of stress in humans. The issue is whether it is primarily an external response that can be measured by changes in glandular secretions, skin reactions, and other physical functions—or if it is an internal interpretation of, or reaction to, a stressor, or both.

When you're faced with a highly stressful event in your life, the strategies outlined here will help you cope.

Ways to manage stress: Get enough sleep, follow a healthy diet and make time for yourself.

Many people believe stress is all in the mind. But dealing with stressful situations can have physiological consequences.

By consciously learning to be present and mindful, you can transform your inattention to attention and your stress into solutions.

Detailed information on women and managing stress

Some stress is inevitable, but as you grow older, the key is to minimize stress while maximizing happiness and enjoyment.

If you take a healthy attitude toward stress in your travel plans, the payoffs include improved physical well-being, mental alertness and better job performance.

Lower your risk: Control stress. When you’re stressed, your heartbeat speeds up and your blood pressure skyrockets. The next time you feel tension taking over, sit back and look at what’s bothering you.

Recent studies are changing our notion about why men develop impotence. While it was once believed that psychological problems were the main cause, we now understand that medical factors -- such as poor blood flow, nerve damage, and medication side effects -- play an important role in most cases of impotence.

Yoga is one of the few stress-relief tools that has a positive effect on all the body systems involved.

Practicing deep, focused breathing is a relaxation technique that can help alleviate stress, which in turn will likely have positive effects on general health and well-being.

As a working parent, do you need some relief from the stress of managing a career and a family?

Your wedding day can be one of the best days of your life, it can also be one of the most stressful.

By understanding what is causing you stress, you may be able to make changes to help you feel more in control.

New research shows that prolonged stress can accelerate the aging of body cells.

A British study suggests a link between increased stress and a rise in cholesterol level, and a follow-up several years later showed the trend continued over time.

Stress is a term that refers to the sum of the physical, mental, and emotional strains or tensions on a person. Feelings of stress in humans result from interactions between persons and their environment that are perceived as straining or exceeding their adaptive capacities and threatening their well-being. The element of perception indicates that human stress responses reflect differences in personality as well as differences in physical strength or health. A stressor is defined as a stimulus or event that provokes a stress response in an organism. Stressors can be categorized as acute or chronic, and as external or internal to the organism. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-IV-TR ) defines a psychosocial stressor as "any life event or life change that may be associated temporally (and perhaps causally) with the onset, occurrence, or exacerbation [worsening] of a mental disorder." Stress affects the lives of most adults in developed countries in many ways. It is a major factor in rising health care costs; one public health expert maintains that 90% of all diseases and disorders in the United States are stress-related. Stress plays a part in many social problems such as child and elder abuse , workplace violence, juvenile crime, suicide , substance addiction , "road rage," and the general decline of courtesy and good manners. Stress also affects the productivity of businesses and industries. One nationwide survey found that 53% of American workers name their job as the single greatest source of stress in their lives. Furthermore, the overall cost of medical care, time lost from work, and workplace accidents in the United States comes to over $150 million per year.

Over the course of evolution, the human mind and body have developed means of handling stressful situations. Over the short term, such stress response pathways are highly adaptive, allowing a person to manage his or her resources in order to navigate the crisis; in some cases, however, these processes go awry and result in pathology. Chronic stress is becoming increasingly problematic in the United States as workers work longer and harder hours. Approximately one-third of all workers report that they are in high-stress jobs, and that not only is stress implicated in 15 percent of all disability claims, the number of stress-related absences is increasing. Such prolonged exposure to stress can also result in consequences in the form of physical illness. Alternatively, a severe acute stressor may result in a stress-response syndrome such as an acute stress disorder or a post-traumatic stress disorder. In acute stress, the mind and body respond with a fight or flight response that involves activation of the sympathetic nervous system and release of stress hormones such as cortisol. Psychologically, this increases the organism's alertness and response time. Physiologically, these changes provide the organism with the energy needed to meet the emergency. Such intense activation helps the organism in the short term, but prolonged activation of this system creates problems in that it may increase the risk of certain disease states, and, once set into motion, chronic stress responses may be difficult to extinguish. This has led some researchers to investigate potential mediating factors such as personality. For example, a correlation has been established between a personality characterized by hostile competitiveness (type A) and increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack). An acute stressor or psychological trauma, such as a life-threatening circumstance, presents a person with new information that may be difficult to assimilate. In an attempt to adapt, the person will typically alternate between contemplation of the stressor and avoidance of reminders of the event. Such a cycle allows for dose-by-dose psychological processing of the event. Difficulties in adaptation may present as an acute stress disorder that manifests itself as an extreme version of this cycle. People with such a disorder may have intrusive remembrances, nightmares, or even flashbacks of the stress event. These can alternate with emotional numbing, interpersonal alienation, and extreme avoidance of traumatic reminders. A diagnosis of postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is made if these symptoms persist longer than one month. Studies suggest that approximately 0.5 percent of men and 1.3 percent of women meet criteria for PTSD over their lifetime. A larger percentage (approximately 15%) of subjects were found to have some symptoms but did not meet criteria for the full disorder. At present, psychotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for stress response syndromes. A variety of approaches exist, but they share a common goal of assisting the patient with conscious contemplation of the event in such a way that it may be assimilated and anxiety responses extinguished. Care must be taken to create an environment of safety and to avoid retraumatization, which may occur with overly rapid exposure to traumatic memories. Patients experience decreased feelings of guilt and shame as they learn that they responded to the trauma as adequately as possible. Contemplation of the event in therapy may lead to further benefits, including an enhanced understanding of the meaning of the event in the larger context of the individual's life. Psychopharmacologic treatment may be a useful adjunct for specific symptom clusters such as associated anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The prognosis for treatment is good and is improved if the patient was without preexisting psychiatric comorbidity and if the treatment occurs in close proximity to the event. Brief treatment is frequently h

Stress is an individual's physical and mental reaction to environmental demands or pressures.

My fingertips have recently started peeling. I have been under a considerable amount of stress lately. Could there be any correlation?

Women experience symptoms of stress 30 percent more often than men, research has shown.

No one can avoid all stress -- and a certain amount actually is good for you. But it's always best to keep unhealthy levels in check when possible.

Mental stress does more than diminish your sense of well-being. It also can increase your risk for heart disease.

During stressful times, your body produces various chemicals, including cortisol, an immune-suppressing hormone. The more cortisol produced, the weaker your immune cells become and the more susceptible you are to illness.

You're familiar with the symptoms of stress -- a pounding heart, increased perspiration, tight neck and shoulder muscles, anxiety and fear. But you may not know how to prevent or relieve these symptoms.

The formula for success at work is not only hard work, but also frequent breaks for mental and physical rest.

Here are suggestions on how to avoid and deal with the stresses in your life.

Whether your credit card balances are soaring, or you and your partner are arguing constantly over nickels and dimes, there are things you can do to relieve financial stress.

The more you learn about the pressure times and triggers at your workplace, the better you'll be able to plan for them.

No matter the source of your stress, it can produce physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can affect any part of the body.

Stress is a powerful force for good and for ill. It can help us cope with life's challenges, but it can also affect our health by making pre-existing conditions worse or even bringing on new ones.

To manage your stress, you must first learn to recognize when you are under stress. Every one reacts to stress differently; find out how you respond to stressful situations.

Anything that brings on feelings of stress is called a stressor. Today, we often face many stressors.

Stress tests are not recommended unless you experience chest pain or tightness during exercise or other activities that stress the heart.

Guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology offer advice on protecting the heart during noncardiac surgery.

Resilience is the ability to handle stressful events and remain mentally strong and healthy. The presence of a certain form of neurochemical may be one explanation for why some people are more resilient than others.

In experiments on mice, suppressing a chemical linked to stress and appetite prevented the formation of abdominal fat cells, which could lead to new possibilities for weight loss drugs.

What is the relationship between stress and infertility? Joan Bengtson, M.D., is assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproduction at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Dermatoses is a general term used to describe any skin defect or lesion on the skin. Systemic means it affects the entire body, rather than a single part.

Detailed information on skin conditions in children, including acne, birthmarks, bites, stings, blisters, burns, contact dermatitis, cradle cap (seborrheic dermatitis), diaper rash, impetigo, lice, poison ivy, poison oak, sunburn, and warts

Detailed information on common skin disorders, including Bacterial Skin Infections, Fungal Skin Infections, Viral Skin Infections, Viral Exanthems (Rashes), and Parasitic Skin Infections

Detailed information on common skin disorders, including acne, bed sore, dry skin, calluses, corns, keratosis pilaris, psoriasis, pityriasis rosea, rosacea, and sebaceous cysts

Skin problems such as pimples, blackheads, rashes, and oily skin are common in both teens and adults. But you don't necessarily need a dermatologist to treat them.

Detailed information on questions a physician may ask you in describing your dermatological condition and its location

Detailed information on questions a physician may ask you in describing your dermatological condition and its location

Detailed information on the most common types of skin tests, including patch testing, skin biopsy, and skin culture

Detailed information on the most common types of skin tests, including patch testing, skin biopsy, and skin culture

Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death. The branch of medicine that deals with the study and treatment of obesity is known as bariatrics. As obesity has become a major health problem in the United States, bariatrics has become a separate medical and surgical specialty.

Obesity is a term used to describe body weight that is much greater than what is considered healthy. If you are obese, you have a much higher amount of body fat than lean muscle mass. Adults with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 25 but less than 30 are considered overweight. Adults with a BMI greater than 30 are considered obese. Anyone more than 100 pounds overweight or with a BMI greater than 40 is considered morbidly obese.

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity causes, obesity health effects, obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, maintaining weight loss, and obesity prevention

Obesity is the condition of having an excessive accumulation of fat in the body, resulting in a body weight more than 20% above the average for height, age, sex, and body type, and in elevated risk of disability, illness, and death.

We've all heard warnings, yet many of us keep gaining weight. More than half of American adults are overweight or obese, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Weighing too much is harmful, but the location of those extra pounds can worsen the risk.

Detailed information on obesity, including cause, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity facts, obesity causes, and obesity health effects

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity facts, obesity causes, and obesity health effects

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity facts, obesity causes, and obesity health effects

Obesity , defined as a body mass index of 30 or greater, is an epidemic in the United States and other industrialized nations, and it is rapidly becoming one in developing nations. As countries transition to westernized lifestyles, obesity tends to increase. Obesity rates vary from as little as 2 percent in some Asian countries to as much as 75 percent in some Pacific nations. There are more than 300 million obese persons in the world, and more than 750 million overweight persons. In the United States, 34 percent of adults are over-weight and 30.5 percent are obese. Between 1980 and 2000, the percentage of overweight children ages six to eleven doubled, from 7 percent to 15 percent, and the percentage of overweight adolescents ages twelve to nineteen tripled, from 5 percent to 16 percent (Ogden, et al.). In Europe, the thinnest country is Sweden, with about 10 percent obesity, while the fattest is Lithuania, with about 79 percent obesity. The sad fact is the prevalence of obesity appears to be increasing in all countries. An obese person has a 50 to 100 percent increased risk of premature death compared to someone of normal weight. In the United States, more than 300,000 deaths a year are attributable to obesity. Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes , coronary heart disease , stroke , hypertension , elevated blood cholesterol , some cancers (e.g., colon, endometrial, kidney, gallbladder, and postmenopausal breast cancer ), osteoarthritis , gallbladder disease, and respiratory disease. In addition, obesity is often associated with discrimination and prejudice, causing some obese people to suffer poor self-esteem and reduced quality of life. The health care costs attributable to obesity exceed $100 billion a year in the United States, more than 6 percent of the total health care costs.

Detailed information on obesity prevention strategies during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

obesity increases the risk for illness from 30 serious medical conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and several types of cancer.

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity facts, obesity causes, and obesity health effects

With childhood obesity on the rise, should parents worry about the weight of their babies?

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity causes, obesity health effects, obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, maintaining weight loss, and obesity prevention

Detailed information on obesity prevention strategies during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity causes, obesity health effects, obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, maintaining weight loss, and obesity prevention

Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.

As your body mass index goes up, so does your risk for health problems. Your blood pressure goes up and so do your cholesterol levels.

Detailed information on obesity prevention strategies during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

Detailed information on obesity prevention strategies during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood

Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death .

The analysis of more than 15,000 young people in the United States found about a third of the cases of depression and obesity among those teens could be attributed to being from families with low incomes.

There is growing evidence that obesity increases a man's risk of developing prostate cancer. The reasons are still unclear, but obesity affects hormone production, which could in turn be influencing cancer growth.

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, obesity gastric bypass (malabsorptive) surgery, and obesity gastric stapling (restrictive) surgery

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, and obesity surgical treatment

Detailed information on obesity, including obesity causes, obesity health effects, obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, maintaining weight loss, and obesity prevention

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, obesity gastric bypass (malabsorptive) surgery, and obesity gastric stapling (restrictive) surgery

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, obesity gastric bypass (malabsorptive) surgery, and obesity gastric stapling (restrictive) surgery

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, and obesity surgical treatment

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, obesity surgical treatment, obesity gastric bypass (malabsorptive) surgery, and obesity gastric stapling (restrictive) surgery

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, and obesity surgical treatment

Detailed information on obesity treatment, including obesity medical treatment, and obesity surgical treatment

Term describing a condition where the ratio of body fat to total body mass is higher than accepted norms. Obesity is a relative term used to describe the condition where the ratio of body fat, which is measurable, to total body mass is higher than the accepted norm. {Obesity and overweight are often used interchangeably, but their technical definitions are different. Overweight refers to an excess of body weight that includes all tissues—fat, bone, and muscle. Obesity refers specifically to an excess of body fat.) Body fat is about 15% of total body mass for the normal adult male and about 20-25% for the normal adult female. A general rule of thumb is that an individual is probably obese when his or her weight exceeds the maximum weight on standardized height and weight charts by more than 20%. However, during childhood and adolescence, when the body is growing and developing, the proportion of body fat is slightly higher than for a mature adult. In addition, the proportion of body fat fluctuates during various stages of growth. The percent of U.S. children who are overweight is estimated to be between 20-30%, but there is no firm definition of obesity for children and adolescents. The body mass index (BMI) and average weight-for-height charts provide general guidelines. Pediatricians and parents should evaluate an individual child's weight in the context of his stage of growth, level of physical activity, and general dietary habits. Richard P. Troiano, a researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encourages parents and physicians to observe children and adolescents in their environment over time, and cautions against making weight a disease. Adults should help children see the relationship between eating and exercise choices and weight.

Extreme obesity plagues more than a million teens and young adults, experts estimate. What's a parent to do?

Detailed information on weight and weight control, including healthy tips for maintaining your weight

Detailed information on obesity medical treatment, including obesity prescription medications and supplements, obesity behavioral strategies, and psychotherapy for eating disorders

Detailed information on obesity medical treatment, including obesity prescription medications and supplements, obesity behavioral strategies, and psychotherapy for eating disorders

Detailed information on obesity medical treatment, including obesity prescription medications and supplements, obesity behavioral strategies, and psychotherapy for eating disorders

Detailed information on obesity medical treatment, including obesity prescription medications and supplements, obesity behavioral strategies, and psychotherapy for eating disorders

Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20 percent or more over an individual's ideal body weight. Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death. The branch of medicine that deals with the study and treatment of obesity is known as bariatrics. As obesity has become a major health problem in the United States, bariatrics has become a separate medical and surgical specialty.

Bariatric surgery, which helps extremely obese people lose weight by reducing the size of the stomach and intestines, carries a higher risk of death than previously believed, new research shows. Three studies, published October 19 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found death rates of 3% to 5% for middle-aged adults and more than twice that high for patients 65 to 74, the Associated Press (AP) reported. Among patients 75 or older, 40% of the women and half of the men died, the AP story said.

Exploring the causes and consequences of America's growing epidemic of obesity.Obesity is not a new problem. Forty years ago, 4 of every 10 Americans were overweight or obese. But obesity is a growing problem, and it’s growing quickly; today, two of every three Americans need to lose weight. In the 1960s, obesity was an epidemic; today, it’s a pandemic.

Detailed information on obesity surgical treatment, including gastric bypass surgery, and gastric stapling surgery

Detailed information on obesity surgical treatment, including gastric bypass surgery, and gastric stapling surgery

Detailed information on obesity surgical treatment, including gastric bypass surgery, and gastric stapling surgery

Detailed information on obesity surgical treatment, including gastric bypass surgery, and gastric stapling surgery

More than 19 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, and millions more have a condition that puts them at high risk for developing it.

The American Diabetes Association estimates at least 20.1 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes means having a blood sugar level that is higher than normal, but not yet persistently high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. By taking steps to control your blood sugar, you can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing.

What is responsible for obesity, how to treat it.At one time it was commonly believed that overweight and obese people were compulsive eaters, anxious, depressed, under stress, or trying to compensate for inadequate upbringing, family conflict, or other deficiencies in their lives. But since then, when almost everyone seems to be getting heavier and obesity has become a national political issue, both experts and the public are turning away from the idea that weight gain is a personal emotional problem. Instead the trend toward obesity has become a subject for biologists and sociologists, regarded as the physical consequence of a general social condition. It’s become less clear what role psychotherapists and other mental health professionals should play in managing the problem.

America is more overweight and out of shape than ever. The result? Soaring medical costs and lost productivity. The U.S. government is working to change that with "Healthy People 2010," its latest effort to show us that national health demands personal health. The drive includes 10 "leading health indicators," modeled after our leading economic indicators.

A study claims that obese people are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, but the findings do not prove that the conditions are causally related to each other.

The prevalence and consequences of obesity and how to treat it; explanation of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio.

Detailed information on maintaining weight loss, including weight loss benefits, weight loss maintenance strategies, and weight cycling

Detailed information on maintaining weight loss, including weight loss benefits, weight loss maintenance strategies, and weight cycling

Detailed information on maintaining weight loss, including weight loss benefits, weight loss maintenance strategies, and weight cycling

Detailed information on maintaining weight loss, including weight loss benefits, weight loss maintenance strategies, and weight cycling

Portion sizes are bigger today, and that increase has contributed to the growing numbers of overweight or obese Americans.

Each overweight or obese American spends $700 more a year on medical bills than trim neighbors, one expert says.

With two out of three Americans overweight or obese, it's become a community problem. The solution requires cooperation from public and private institutions.

Obesity has become a public health crisis in the United States, in part, because Americans are consuming more calories than they did 30 years ago. A large part of that increase in consumption can be pinned on a greater use of foods prepared away from home -- those ready-to-eat items available at restaurants, grocery store food counters and fast-food eateries.

Children whose parents are overweight or obese are at higher risk for becoming obese themselves, studies have shown. One study, in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that for a child under 10, having an obese parent more than doubled the child's risk for becoming an obese adult.

Obesity is the most common health problem facing children, child health experts say. More than 30 percent of children and teens are overweight, and 15 percent are obese.

True or false? Most overweight people got that way because they're self-indulgent weaklings without the will power to say no to super-sized french fries and fudge-slathered ice cream.

We've all heard warnings, yet many of us keep gaining weight. More than half of American adults are overweight or obese, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Many obese adults don't believe they are obese. A small survey (104 adults ages 45 to 64 were polled) found that 71% of normal-weight people placed themselves in the correct weight category, as did 73% of overweight people. However, only 15% of obese people identified themselves as obese. The Associated Press reported April 9 on the survey, done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the CDC, an adult who is 5 feet 10 inches tall is overweight at 174 pounds and obese at 209 pounds.

Experts in one study say the study shows the limitations of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a measure of obesity, especially because it doesn't account for weight that is muscle rather than fat. A study of 90,000 U.S. women, described in the second article, says the risk of death jumps sharply for extremely obese women -- those at least 90 pounds overweight.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is warning that obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of several complications, including high blood pressure, a serious condition called preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. The ACOG opinion, published in the September issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, says obese women also are more likely to miscarry, to need a Caesarean section, and to have excessive bleeding and infection after a Caesarean section. Babies of obese women are more likely to be stillborn, be born prematurely and have spinal cord abnormalities called neural tube defects. The risks affect women with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 30, and are even higher for women with a BMI of more than 30.

Experts are challenging a recent, widely reported study that suggested being overweight is not associated with early mortality.

I am 19 years old and weigh 300 pounds. I have tried diets and they don't work. I have had a physical and am healthy except for my weight. I would like to have stomach banding surgery done. Am I a good candidate for this procedure?

The fact is, you might not care as much about looks as your wife does, but that fat around your abdomen is no laughing matter. A man's potbelly often warns of later problems ranging from heart disease to cancer, diabetes, arthritis, back pain and sleep apnea.