Weighty Costs: Last Tuesday, June 21, I mentioned the ads about obesity being overblown as a problem. "Recently, I was in the metro and saw an ad implying that obesity is not really a problem, but has been blown out of proportion. The ad, I have now discovered, is funded by the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is backed by US food and restaurant industries. An article on MSNBC also discusses the ads." As I mentioned before, even if overweight or even obesity is not killing people, it is still having tremendous well-being and economic effects. The USAToday has an article today which says spending on obesity has increased more than tenfold since 1987.

Don't let the study dissuade you from having chocolate, though, since once again studies have shown that dark chocolate is good for you, in that it actually has a beneficial effect cardiovascular outcome. It also helps diabetes and hypertension, among other things.