The Florida sun streamed into Dr. Arthur Agatston's swanky South Beach office as we chatted over a meal straight out of his bestselling first book.

While in the Sunshine State a few weeks ago, I visited Agatston at his cardiology clinic. Decorated with swirling marble and ebony hardwood, the office -- located in Miami's art deco-influenced South Beach district -- lives up to its glamorous location.

A UK expert is recommending, on the basis of a study, that obese children from the age of 15 onwards who have weight-related diabetes should have gastric bands fitted to make their stomachs much smaller so they lose weight. This should be a last resort because there are serious health risks, and should only be considered when all other methods, such as diet and exercise, have failed.

The number of prescription items issued to treat obesity in England rose by 16 per cent to 1.23 million in 2007, official data show.

A former police sergeant has sued his former department and the borough council for harassing him about being overweight.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday, James C. Citta claims he was told by former Seaside Park Police Chief William Beining III that his weight would prevent him from ever being promoted.

Snoring is often something most of us are ashamed of. However, it also holds the key to our health, in that it can determine if we suffer from a condition called sleep apnea, which, in turn, considerably increases the chances of a heart attack. Women’s Health puts forward a simple test we and our bed partner can perform to determine if we should see a doctor about the condition or not.

Children have the power to make healthy choices.

That's the message that the Extreme Health Challenge Puppet Show hopes to teach elementary school children.

The show visited Cambridge Elementary School in Cocoa, giving kindergarteners through fifth-graders the chance to show their knowledge and gain some new facts about being healthy through the game show-like performance.

Puppets such as Kirk, a self-proclaimed rehabilitated video game and junk-food junkie, imparted to the students his ideas for making healthy choices.

Stop eating when you feel satisfied, drink as much water as you can during the day, eat fresh food and exercise daily were some of his tips.

Lessons on reading food labels and encouraging the consumption of more fiber, more vitamins and less sugar were also messages of the show.

Belize City A three day workshop dubbed “Train the Trainer Programme? on best practices for food safety, was held this week at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City as part of the World Health Organization’s ongoing education programme to cut down on food-borne diseases.

The workshop focused specifically on five keys areas for safer food handling, and is designed to help professionals, health educators, community leaders and government officials on how to prepare food safely.

San Diego physician Dr. Nicholas Yphantides used to weigh 467 pounds. Beginning in April 2001, he lost 270 pounds while visiting all 30 Major League Baseball parks and all 50 states in one year. Since then, telling the story of his journey has inspired and motivated hundreds of people to lose thousands of pounds.

We must all “fight the couch potato culture? to reduce rising levels of obesity and diabetes, says Somerset PCT, which is attempting to raise awareness of the need to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity five days of the week.