The momentum is building for healthier restaurant menus, but not building fast enough. Unfortunately they follow the guidelines of the media, jumping on what the media hypes, and not nutrition specialists.

By Sheila Monaghan Skipping and jumping it is not — this type of rope work has a bit more heft. Though often found coiled in a corner of your exercise floor, the weighted rope has potential beyond its occasional appearance in a circuit workout. In fact, if used creatively, this understated piece of equipment can offer a stand-alone, total-body workout that’s anything but basic. Rope work is one of the most efficient ways to simultaneously boost your metabolism and tone muscle, which is precisely why we tapped one of its masters, group fitness instructor Gerren Liles, who teaches the

Got a success story of your own? Send it to us at success.stories@huffingtonpost.com and you could be featured in our I Lost Weight series! Name: Lisa Taylor Age: 51 Height: 5’4″ Before Weight: 260 pounds How I Gained It: I began struggling with my weight during my first pregnancy about 30 years ago. By the time I reached my early 30s, my weight had spiraled out of control — mostly because of a change in my work environment. I gained 80 pounds in a really short time. When I had a job that was mostly male-oriented, I’d go for a

It’s okay to be heavy, as long as you don’t have diabetes or hypertension–right? While the bulk of studies warn about the dangers — to the heart, liver, kidneys and other body systems — of gaining weight, a small number of trials suggested that some overweight or obese individuals may be as healthy as their normal weight counterparts, since they had normal blood pressure, no diabetes and relatively stable cholesterol levels. In fact, one study found that overweight individuals (but not obese people) tended to live longer than those of normal weight. The researchers, from Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada, found that people who tipped the scales at above their recommended body mass index (BMI) but did not have abnormal cholesterol or blood pressure, for example, still had a higher risk of dying from heart disease over an average of about 10 years compared to metabolically healthy individuals within normal weight ranges.

Young women approaching puberty could reduce their risk of breast cancer if they avoid high-fat diets, researchers from Michigan State University claim.

By Amir Khan If you’re watching the amount of salt in your diet,you may have to look beyond your kitchen cabinet and into yourmedicine cabinet, according to a new study published in the journalBMJ. Researchers from the University of Dundee and UniversityCollege London in the UK found that some common medications made todissolve in water contain such high levels of sodium that takingthe maximum dose each day would cause you to exceed the recommendeddaily limits, and put you at risk of heart attack and stroke. Theresearchers, led by Jacob George, MD,

Whether it’s Opinionated Oscar, who disdains anyone with a different viewpoint, Sensitive Samantha, who gets offended by the slightest thing, or Critical Candace, who must point out your recent weight gain, you need an extra dose of patience to navigate the field of party spoilers.

“This world is just filled with overweight kids. It’s justhorrible,” Richard Simmons said between tears during a recentappearance on HuffPost Live. “A woman will write me and go, ‘Mydaughter is 12 years old and 215,'” he continued. “I kinda go,’Well, how much do you weigh?'” He says it’s a tough question formost parents to face, but that overweight children are learningtheir behavior from somewhere, whether it’s from their friends,from television or at home. Watch the clip above for more fromSimmons on the importance of getting kids active, then check outhis whole