April Rodgers knew her two sons were more than a little pudgy. The younger boy could scarcely bend over to slip on his socks and tie his shoes.

Visit after visit, she pleaded with the family pediatrician for help, only to hear the same simple refrain: Eat less, exercise more. The boys kept getting bigger.

It's hard to answer a higher call when you get winded climbing to the choir loft or kneeling to wash parishioners' feet.

So the Rev. Duane Wachowiak, pastor of Boyne Valley Catholic Community, and Donna Peterson, office manager and choir member at Holy Rosary Church in Cedar, each went on a personal crusade to cast off their excess weight. Together they've lost about 400 pounds and 14 sizes, thanks to the blessings of gastric bypass surgery.

Hunter Hawkins walked into a Southeast Portland coffee shop late one recent afternoon, ordered a drink and returned the smile of a young woman behind the counter.

On the surface, it wasn't much of a moment. But to Hawkins, it was another reminder that he'd earned a second chance at life.

Jamie Dukes, a former Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman, is speaking out about his dramatic weight loss following gastric band surgery last year.

Dukes appeared on 11 Alive News Sunday Today, along with his surgeon, Dr. Christopher Hart, who's medical director of the Atlanta Bariatric Center at Emory Johns Creek Hospital.

Dukes currently works as an analyst for the NFL Network.

We all know someone who is overweight but otherwise healthy. Should this person be aggressively treated for their weight condition? That is a question doctors, dietitians and researchers regularly ask. With more than 65% of Americans carrying around too much weight, we need to decide who needs aggressive medical intervention and who needs simple monitoring to prevent more weight gain. You might feel anyone that is overweight should lose weight, but is that truly a cost effective medical approach to the problem?

WHEN she was a teenager Carole Theobald remembers her father being able to wrap his fingers around her waist.

But following the birth of the first of her three children, the days of fitting into size 10 clothes were over for the 44-year-old.

Now Carole, who works as a nurse and has two grandchildren, is hoping that a saline-filled balloon, which will sit in her stomach for six months, will help her lose two-and-a-half stone.

As we wave goodbye to the sweaters and layers of clothing, and say hello to the short sleeve shirts and swimsuits, it's not too late to get that workout routine jump started to look fabulous for summer.

Losing weight may not help prevent the progression of knee osteoarthritis, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at more than 2,600 people with the knee ailment who were at high risk for the condition because they were overweight or obese or had other risk factors such as knee pain or previous knee injuries. Participants were given a physical examination and hip bone mineral test and had X-rays taken of both legs at the start of the study and of their knees again after 30 months.

Surgeons at UCSF have begun testing a new treatment for obesity. It works something like gastric banding on the stomach, with one significant difference -- there are no incisions.

Hoping to lose a few pounds before summer? Maybe the MUFA or the Dash diet will help.

What are the latest fad diets, do they work and will the results last?  I asked the experts to weigh in.