Shocking study reveals cause of obesity epidemic When it comes to useless studies, this one takes the cake. According to researchers at the Collaborating Center for Obesity Prevention of the World Health Organization (WHO), the climbing rate of obesity in industrialized nations is the result of - drum roll, please - overeating. That's right: researchers from the WHO spent valuable funds - funds that could have been allocated to the study of continent-wide health crises such as the AIDS epidemic in Africa - to determine that people are fat because they're eating too much. You just can't make this stuff up. And if you did, not a soul would believe you. A WHO study in 2005 claimed that 1.6 billion adults on this earth are overweight - nearly a third of the global population. Of these, about 400 million are obese. And this was almost five years and countless billions of Twinkies ago. The British government is hoping to address the problem much as it has been addressed here in the States: by using a system of labels to warn consumers off of high-calorie, unhealthy foods. I say good luck to them. All the labels in the world aren't going to stop anyone from overeating if that's what they want to do. No one who pulls through the drive thru at the Golden Arches actually believes that a Big Mac and fries are good for him. You don't need a label to tell you that stuff will kill you. This is one trend that research teams like those at the WHO have never accounted for. In spite of all the warnings, the obesity epidemic continually gets worse. But here's the kicker: the researchers also found that lack of exercise has nothing to do with the rising obesity epidemic. So regardless of what those pricey gym memberships and personal trainers tell you, putting yourself on a hamster wheel every day is not the answer. Let's not make this any more complicated than it needs to be. If you want to lose weight, eat less. End of story. Here's something you won't hear every day: researchers are admitting that there's actually a disease that the much-glorified statin drugs can't fix. In spite of reports to the contrary, a new study has proven that cholesterol-loweing statins can't prevent dementia. According to study author Dr. Bernadette McGuiness of Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, "In late life there is good evidence that statins given to people at vascular risk have no effect in preventing Alzheimer's disease or dementia." I hardly expect that this minor quibble will put a dent in the sales of the planet's most prescribed drug. It won't stop researchers from trying to establish a link either. There's too much money to be made. Even in the face of her own test results, Dr. McGuinness said she and her team "were a little surprised at the lack of efficacy" statins had on dementia. "Biologically, it seems feasible statins could be effective in preventing dementia due to their role in cholesterol reduction," McGuiness said. "It is still unknown whether statins given for many years from mid-life on may have an effect." That's not the only question still up in the air. Although it's kept very hush hush, none of the drug companies know if it's even safe to take statins for long periods of time. Most tests for new drugs only go on for five years or less. As you know, that's not long enough to tell you much at all. As it is, even taking them for a short time has been shown to cause memory loss. We also know for a fact that statin drugs reduce your level of CoQ10, which can weaken the heart muscle and cause congestive heart failure. With so many unknowns, it's downright dangerous to be popping these pills even for cholesterol. So don't even give them a second thought as a treatment for dementia, asthma, or anything else. | 
