Americans' losing battle against the bulge also bears a burgeoning price tag, with the amount of money spent treating obesity-related health problems increasing tenfold over 15 years, a study said on Monday.

Women who eat little or no meat are less likely to be overweight than their more carnivorous peers, according to a new study. The findings, say researchers, suggest that replacing some meat and other animal products with plant-based fare may help people control their weight.

Encouraging women to eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D could prevent the development of clinical premenstrual syndrome, suggests a new US study. The findings suggest that by consuming four servings of low fat dairy products a day, women can reduce their risk of developing the disorder by almost 50%.

Tea growers in northeastern India are experimenting with organic farming to improve quality and help the country, the world's largest tea producer, regain market share by promoting its organic tea as a 'health drink'.

The nation's organic milk producers have stumbled into a problem that most companies only dream about: Their product is too popular. As diet-conscious consumers step up their purchases of healthier foods, organic milk suppliers are grappling with the first shortages since organic products made their way out of natural-food stores and into mainstream supermarkets. Some stores have been getting only 70 percent to 80 percent of their regular orders.

They may be sweet and sticky but raisins contain compounds that suppress bacteria responsible for cavities and gum disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Poor nutrition in the womb may remodel the brain circuitry of newborn babies and predispose them to become obese in later life, research in mice suggests. The findings may help doctors to prevent the onset of obesity in susceptible infants who are born undernourished, say the researchers.

Cranberry juice, which studies have shown may help disrupt bacterial infections of the urinary tract, may also work against gastrointestinal viruses, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. Tests on animal viruses in lab dishes suggest the juice may help prevent viruses from infecting cells, the team at St. Francis College and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York found.

Foods with a low-glycemic index, which are digested relatively slowly and cause smaller increases in blood sugar, may protect the heart and blood vessels better than low-fat fare, according to the findings of a small study. Researchers in Boston found that when obese people consumed as many carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index as they wanted, they lost just as much weight in 12 months as people who stuck with a conventional, calorie-restricted low-fat diet. Carbohydrates with a low-glycemic index include foods such as nonstarchy vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and diary products, according to the report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Children are urged to drink plenty of milk but a study published on Monday suggests that the more milk that kids drink, the fatter they grow -- and skim milk is a worse culprit than whole milk.

Toxic chemicals that poisoned your great-grandparents may also damage your health, research suggests. A team from Washington State University has produced evidence that some inherited diseases may be caused by poisons polluting the womb.

Different odors affect the way motorists drive, with fast food scents likely to increase road rage potential and other smells -- like peppermint -- deemed to improve concentration, the RAC Foundation motoring organization said Friday. "More than any other sense, the sense of smell circumnavigates the logical part of the brain," the RAC Foundation's consultant psychologist, Conrad King, said.

Treating obesity-related disorders costs as much or more than illnesses caused by aging, smoking and problem drinking. A review of research into the economic causes and consequences of obesity presented at the 14th European Congress on Obesity showed that in 2003 up to $96.7 billion was spent on obesity problems in the United States.

When Annette Evanson sends her son off to elementary school each day, she packs him a lunch stocked with carrot sticks, whole-grain bread and fresh fruit. She considers it a defensive move. "They serve the kids corn dogs and hot dogs at school," said Evanson, who lives in suburban Overland Park, Kansas. "It just mimics fast food. What kind of example are we giving to the kids?" Indeed, concerns about unhealthy eating at schools and evidence of mounting obesity and illness in America's young people has triggered a new kind of food fight in U.S. school cafeterias.

The American diet, under more scrutiny than ever, continues to be debated, even as newly released federal nutrition guidelines attempt to codify for the confused how much of what foods we should eat. There are concerns about cholesterol and high-fat foods, reports on the glycemic index, a renewed emphasis on whole grains and a return to recognizing that calories do count. One of the latest discussions to emerge centers around milk and dairy products as key sources of calcium needed to build strong bones and prevent osteoporosis.