i [heart] my friend stef.

from her quotes file.

From the standpoint of health...there is a major problem with the "lose
weight, live longer" equation...fifteen studies published between 1983
and 1993...show weight loss to increase risk of premature death by up to
260 percent. This is thirteen more than the number of studies published
during the same period of time that showed weight loss to reduce death
rates. And of the two studies in the minority, one showed an 11-hour
increase in longevity per pound of weight lost...(To gain a year of life
at that rate, one would have to lose 796 pounds.)
-- Glenn Gaesser, _Big Fat Lies_