The procedure is only experimental right now, but it’s fascinating. Doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia are doing a new kind of weight-loss surgery that passes a stapler down the patient’s throat to staple the stomach. It’s part of a trend to make surgery less painful, minimize risks and speed recovery. Read all about it here.

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The rise in obesity has led to a surge in cosmetic surgery of up to 31 percent over the past five years, say plastic surgeons in Britain.

Since 2003, tummy tucks have gone up by almost a third in both men and women, according to Harley Medical Group, Britain’s biggest cosmetic surgery company.

And the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) says there’s been a 61 percent increase in the number of men having surgery to flatten their stomachs last year.

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Here’s more proof that carrying weight around your middle can be dangerous. A new report from the National Institute on Aging finds even if you’re at a normal weight, having a big stomach could be deadly. Researchers say the way fat is distributed throughout the body – especially at your waistline – may be even more important than how much you weigh.

A few weeks ago, I told you about a study that shows how abdominal fat can also increase your risk of dementia.

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Give your abdominal muscles a workout when you go for a walk – Stand tall and really concentrate on pulling those abs in toward your spine.

We asked Angela Parsons – someone who walks on a regular basis – to step up her routine to help tone her tummy. She said the hardest thing about it was the mental factor.

“I get into the routine of walking and I’m just focused on where I’m going and keeping my heart rate up but I don’t think as much about my abs,” she explains. “If you just really focus on doing it continually, after awhile you can really feel it.”

Here’s how to get started: Hold your abs in tight for just five to ten seconds at a time, then work on holding them in for as long as you can.

Tightening your abs also takes the strain off your back so you don’t hurt yourself. And here’s another bonus – it helps you walk faster, which means you can burn more calories.

See the video here

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