The beginning of January is often considered the season of weight loss due to the many individuals who choose to embark on this type of mission as soon as the new year begins. In fact, fighting the battle of the bulge is one of the most common new year’s resolutions set year after year. And although it sounds like a good idea at the time, very few people actually follow through with this sort of resolution. In fact, a third of individuals will give up on their lofty weight loss dreams by the end of the first month.

This year, instead of focusing on becoming thin, why not focus on improving your health and shrinking your waist instead. Although it may seem weird to focus on the size of your waist this year, it’s often considered a better indicator of health and it’s quite common for individuals to achieve an appropriate waist size before they notice numbers changing on the scale.

The fat that collects around your middle can often lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes if too much is present. Although you can’t specifically target this area of your body and only lose weight here, individuals often see their abdominal fat stores shrink by 10-30% when they lose as little as 5-10% of their overall body weight. This means that your waist measurements may fall into a healthy range even before you hit your desired weight.
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UPDATE: This episode will air again on August 23, 2011.

Tune in this Friday, October 8 to The Doctors to learn why size matters when it comes to your health.

Find out when bigger is better, and when you’re better off being smaller. You may be surprised by the interesting evidence The Doctors have to share about size and your health.
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Image Via Esquire

It’s well known that retailers have been letting clothing sizes inch out in all directions. What was a size 12 dress in the 1950′s will probably carry a size eight label or even a size six label today. But there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly disingenuous about resizing garments to fit and ever-fatter population, although it is somewhat misleading.

But what about clothes that carry actual measurements? Esquire investigated seven brands of men’s pants that claim to have a 36-inch waist band. Their findings? Almost every clothing manufacturer is trying to flatter consumers by selling pants that have much more fabric than they clam.

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NWA's new flight attendant dresses, designed by Richard Tyler. Photo via Washington Post.

There has been controversy over weight issues with airline passengers in recent years. But now the issues are coming from within as employees of Northwest Airlines (now owned by Delta) are getting a bit perturbed by the uniform design approved by their employers.

Delta Airlines hired fashion designer Richard Tyler to design their flight attendants’ red dress uniforms. Tyler wanted them to “look sexy.” The problem is, some workers are complaining that they are too small.

The Northwest chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA has filed a grievance against Delta. They would like to see the company offer the red dress up to size 28. Currently, the uniform is only offered up to a size 18.
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The inches around your waist should be no more than half your total height.

Men and women battle different fat demons. Men usually have it accumulate around the waist, while women have problems in the thighs and rear end.

One thing I get a little jealous about is when guys are just naturally thin in the waist. But even the best of them lose that advantage with age. I’ve always been pretty naturally thin, but when I let myself go even a little, the only thing that is natural is the mid-section bulge that comes with slacking on my nutrition and exercise.

It doesn’t take a ton of weight gain around the waist to start inching toward serious health risks. So what’s the best way to tell? A great way is to check your waist size.
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