You’ve been sweating away on the elliptical for months and obsessing over your diet (kale again?), and the scale is at a standstill. Meanwhile, your husband announces his desire to get in shape. He swears off beer and voilà —two weeks later, his spare tire is gone. What gives? Learn the science behind men’s seemingly random strategies, and you can optimize them for your own body.

Poor food choices, such as over-consumption of carbonated soft drinks, are an important factor driving the global obesity epidemic and have been linked directly to diabetes and heart disease. While public health agencies are working to help people to make healthier choices, monitoring the effectiveness of these efforts has been costly and difficult.

By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New Guantanamo Bay U.S. prison guidelines describe hunger striking detainees as undergoing “long term non-religious fasting,” a copy of the document obtained by Reuters shows. Two U.S. military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday the change in terminology helps differentiate between detainees with medical conditions caused by malnourishment, and political protesters who were at or above their ideal bodyweight. The change follows headline-grabbing hunger strikes by detainees last year which drew renewed attention to President Barack Obama’s frustrated efforts to shutter the facility on a U.S. military base in Cuba. The previous guidelines mentioned “hunger strikes” frequently, but the new ones totally exclude the term and only makes one passing reference to the word “hunger.” “It’s not our job to feed into their political protests.

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) – Oxytocin, a brain chemical known as the “love hormone”, is showing promise as a potential treatment for people with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, according to research by British and Korean scientists. In studies of anorexic patients, researchers found oxytocin altered their tendencies to become fixated on images of fattening foods and large body shapes – suggesting it could be developed as a treatment to help them overcome unhealthy obsessions with diet. Anorexia nervosa affects millions of people worldwide – including around 1 in 150 teenage girls in Britain, where it is one of the leading causes of mental health-related deaths, both due to physical complications and suicide. As well as problems with food, eating and body shape, patients with anorexia often have social difficulties, including anxiety and hypersensitivity to negative emotions.

The medical community has presented findings on both the pros and cons of eating a diet high in animal protein as of late. But now, researchers publishing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggest consuming a diet high in animal protein could help older men function at higher physical, psychological and social levels.

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager William Ackman renewed his attack on Herbalife on Tuesday and said he has evidence the U.S.-based nutrition and weight loss company is breaking direct-selling laws in China, its fastest growing market. Ackman, who has placed a $1 billion short bet against Herbalife, said the company was making recruits pay an entry fee and letting distributors recruit new members, activities he said were illegal in China. Herbalife said it follows local laws. Chinese regulators have yet to comment on the matter but direct sales models have recently come under fire in China, where authorities launched a probe in January into Herbalife’s rival NU Skin Enterprises Inc after state media reported that it brainwashed its members.

Here are four creative pre-workout snacks that help keep your metabolism humming and your body burning more fat.

Pregnant women who eat a “prudent” diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and who drink water have a significantly reduced risk of preterm delivery, suggests a study published on bmj.com.A “traditional” dietary pattern of boiled potatoes, fish and cooked vegetables was also linked to a significantly lower risk.

Two new studies conclude that low protein intake may hold the key to a long and healthy life, at least until old age. They also emphasize the need to examine not only calories when deciding what constitutes a healthy diet, but also where those calories come from – such as whether protein is animal or plant-based.