how not to diet

Ah, the joys of our new, artificial life. A new study adds evidence to the fact that artificial sweeteners may lead to weight gain:

In a series of experiments, scientists at Purdue University compared weight gain and eating habits in rats whose diets were supplemented with sweetened food containing either zero-calorie saccharin or sugar. The report, published in Behavioral Neuroscience, presents some counterintuitive findings: Animals fed with artificially sweetened yogurt over a two-week period consumed more calories and gained more weight — mostly in the form of fat — than animals eating yogurt flavored with glucose, a natural, high-calorie sweetener.

Of course, correlation is not causality, and scientists are still out on the why of the whole thing. But, according to one of the co-authors, "we definitely have evidence that the animals getting artificially sweetened yogurt end up eating more calories than the ones getting calorically sweetened yogurt."

Whups! The source of that was Time magazine.

Congrats to Sasha and Mazel Tov to you both! Arkansas "may" be a "bit" of a culture shock for both of you... but it's yet another interesting step in your travelling experiences. I'm not quite sure which I would find more foreign to my own feelings: Arkansas or Japan. David: Can't wait to check out the technological setup in the new house... definitely sounds like fun. I assume you'll be changing jobs as well... We will all be looking forward to pictures. Again: Congratulations!!!