Weight | featured news

If it's an April Fools' Day joke, it's an awfully elaborate one. If not, Samoa Air has become the first airline in the world to do what was previously unthinkable: Charge passengers by weight. Yes, you get weighed. By a stranger. At the airport.

Researchers are reporting success with using cash incentives to help people lose weight. In a yearlong study, people were offered a chance to win or lose $20 a month if they met certain diet goals. They lost an average of 9 pounds compared to just over 2 pounds for other study participants who were not offered the chance to win money if they shed pounds.

A soda that claims to prevent the absorption of fat in your body is launching in Japan this week. What’s next, cavity-reducing candy?

Even a few nights of sleep deprivation, according to a new study, can make your fat cells behave like they're much older and less responsive to the hormone that controls metabolism.

Finally, there’s good news on the child obesity front. A new study published online today suggests that inexpensive, community-based obesity intervention programs can work very well for kids who struggle with weight issues.

"The Biggest Loser" will return in January with the weight-loss show's first young teen participants and trainer Jillian Michaels back on duty. The show's 14th season will take on a new "mission" against the national increase in childhood obesity, NBC said Tuesday. Youths between the ages of 13 and 17 will join teams trying to shed pounds and get fit.

Women who keep a food journal, don't skip meals and don't eat out lunch at restaurants very often lose more weight, a new study shows.

Like many 23-year-olds, Amanda Eang is self-conscious about her body. She constantly covers up and wears loose-fitting clothing to disguise her shape. At five-foot-two, she weighs just 93 pounds, and for years she has tried to gain weight.

Having a so-called obesity gene doesn't necessarily doom you to being fat, a study finds — if you stay active.

Not everyone who is obese needs to lose weight — it's possible to carry extra pounds and still be healthy, a new study says. Although obesity brings an increased risk of many health complications, the new study shows that people who are obese but do not have such complications might live as long as normal weight individuals.