For the past 20 years, a low-fat diet has been almost universally recommended for weight-loss. However, quite promisingly, newer research has shown that a calorie-controlled, higher unsaturated-fat diet may produce better weight-loss results. Recent research clearly shows that a higher unsaturated-fat, peanut-rich, weight-loss diet reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 14% compared to baseline, whereas a low-fat diet does not.

If you're currently facing an issue with your body weight, one of the questions that you might be asking yourself is how you store body fat in the first place. What is it that got you to where you are now and how can you go about getting yourself out of this situation of being overweight?

The Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of weight in relation to height, is commonly used for classifying overweight and obesity. The risks of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes tend to increase on a continuum with increasing BMI, but for practical purposes a person with a BMI of over 25 is considered overweight, while someone with a BMI of over 30 is obese. But one size does not fit all.

Waist size has been linked in the past with heart disease and diabetes. But few studies have looked at the link between waist circumference and risk of death from any cause across different categories of BMI or for the huge waistlines that are becoming increasingly common. It appears a big waist nearly doubles a person's risk of an early death from many causes, such as cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illness and the risk is increased even among people who aren't overweight.

Organic foods are becoming more popular again as people realize that our bodies don't need the extra burden of harmful chemicals. There are now a number of nutritionists and dieticians that believe that buying organic foods from sources that you can trust is the best way to promote healthy foods.