Ninety percent of the bacteria fall into two major divisions, or phyla: the Firmicutes and the Bacteroidetes. Previous research had shown that obese mice had higher levels of Firmicutes, and lean ones had more Bacteroidetes.

Analyzing the genomes of the bacteria, Gordon and graduate student Peter Turnbaugh concluded that the Firmicutes were more efficient at digesting food that the body can’t.

Animals that have a higher proportion of Firmicutes convert a higher proportion of food into calories that can be absorbed by the body, making it easier to gain weight.

When the researchers transferred bacteria from obese mice into so-called gnotobiotic mice, which were raised in a sterile environment and had no bacteria in their guts, the mice gained more weight than did those receiving a similar amount of bacteria from lean mice, even though they were fed the same diet.

Link

In Japan, being thin isn’t just the price you pay for fashion or social acceptance. It’s the law. [...]

In Japan, already the slimmest industrialized nation, people are fighting fat to ward off dreaded metabolic syndrome and comply with a government-imposed waistline standard. Metabolic syndrome, known here simply as “metabo,” is a combination of health risks, including stomach flab, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Concerned about rising rates of both in a graying nation, Japanese lawmakers last year set a maximum waistline size for anyone age 40 and older: 85 centimeters (33.5 inches) for men and 90 centimeters (35.4 inches) for women.

Link

Park owner Chris Noisier told the BBC: “We’re now working on dieting him down to what he should be and clearly bacon butties are not a normal part of a skunk’s diet in the wild.

“We’re putting him on the vegetarian option at the moment. It’s very much like a human weight watching issue.

“He is getting to meet lots of new people so there’s lots going on in his life and I suspect it’s making up for the lack of his old favourite food.”

Link -via Buzzfeed

Hmmm, this t-shirt outlet might not be the place to buy gifts for loved ones, but if you are a fat guy and proud of it, you’ll find a shirt to love. There are also shirts for big women and for women who love fat guys. Link -via Buzzfeed

After a string of bad behaviors including a brawl in a communal bath, being drunk in public and so on, the sumo champ is being accused of … being "podgy"!

Sumo bad boy Asashoryu, no stranger to public criticism, has been labelled "podgy" in a bizarre attack on the volatile Mongolian.

A popular former wrestler now working as a TV commentator accused Asashoryu of being flabby, even though his 150-kilogram frame is relatively small for the sport.

"He looks podgy," Shuhei Mainoumi told Japanese media. "He doesn’t look as buff. When I got flabby I hated being naked and showing off my body — he looks a bit like that."

Um, maybe this is my naiveté but I thought being podgy is the whole point of sumo wrestling? Link

Matt Johnston of the Herald Sun has the story:

PJ, 32, has already gone from 80kg to 100kg since making his New Year resolution to boost his flab.

"I have always found it easy to tell clients what to do to lose weight, but it’s hard to tell where a client is coming from and how they are feeling," he said.

"There are health risks, I won’t shy away from that. But I’m trying to do it as responsibly as possible, with regular blood pressure and health checks."

He said his body had tried to reject the fat at first, but he had worked hard to make sure he stacked on the kilos, and was now starting to notice people looking at him differently.

"Especially when I’m trying to train clients and they are doing sit-ups and I’m standing there with a massive gut," he said.

"My gut is pretty big. That’s where most of the weight seems to be going."

Link (Photo: Rebecca Michael) | More pics at Australia-Bodybuilding Blog

And they want more! The Chawners, who haven’t worked in 11 years, explains why they want, nay, deserve more money! (Photo: Bernard Ashton/Closer)

“What we get barely covers the bills and puts food on the table. It’s not our fault we can’t work. We deserve more.”

The family claim to spend £50 a week on food and consume 3,000 calories each a day. The recommended maximum intake is 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.

“We have cereal for breakfast, bacon butties for lunch and microwave pies with mashed potato or chips for dinner,” Mrs Chawner told Closer magazine.

“All that healthy food, like fruit and veg, is too expensive. We’re fat because it’s in our genes. Our whole family is overweight,” she added.

Link – via tywkiwdbi

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by philosophile.

The enzyme, MGAT2, determines whether dietary fat is used to generate energy or stored under the skin around the waist. The discovery of its role could be the key to preventing obesity, diabetes and heart disease

Scientists found that mice missing the gene for MGAT2 were able to feast on a high fat diet without becoming flabby or overweight.

Mice lacking MGAT2 were also protected against glucose intolerance – a precursor to diabetes – high cholesterol and a build up of fat in liver cells.

Link

How you know your kitty needs to go on a diet.

Link Via GiggleSugar

Update 2/28/09: Let’s not forget our article on this very subject: Top 15 Amazingly Fat Cats

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm is a chubby chaser. Well, not so much a chubby chaser as a chubby maker.

And when we say "chubby," we mean "fleshy, volumnous sculptures."

Link - via geekologie

From the Upcoming Queue, submitted by JKirchartz.

While putting on weight in general can have negative effects on your health, abdominal weight gain (visceral fat) is particularly unhealthy. Since visceral fat is buried deep in your abdomen, it may seem like a difficult target for spot reduction. But this fat is actually quite sensitive to exercise and calorie reduction.

In addition to diet and exercise for reducing overall fat, eMedExpert Blog has five tips for reducing belly fat in particular. Link -Thanks, Karen!

Whatever happened to appreciating the search for alternate fuel sources?

Link Via Consumerist, Photo by dotbenjamin [Flickr]