the buzz log

Here's a heavy subject: If obesity trends continue, more than 40% of the U.S. will be obese by 2018. According to a new study, that's not the only number to go up: The health care costs associated with a tubby country will quadruple to $344 billion a year, making up a rotund 21% of all health costs.

That's a lot to swallow. The reason? Health care economists who authored the study say that obesity is connected to other illnesses, like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. Unhealthy people are costly to the health care system.

Japan has been attempting to rein in weight with a mandated measure on waist size, spurring chubby residents into unhealthy behavior like crash diets to make their numbers. But it's hard to imagine the U.S. doing anything of the kind. Or that it would work.

The solution, say researchers, is to keep the obesity level the same. (You're obese if you're 30 pounds overweight.) The states most at risk to tip the scales are Kentucky, Maryland, and Mississippi. While the slimmest areas are led by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and D.C. But even the least obese state of Colorado estimates its obesity health costs to be over $3 billion.

It's not like Americans aren't trying to lose weight. The quest for the ultimate diet that will magically shed the pounds (preferably painlessly) is an ever-popular quest. Lookups on "400 calorie diet," "bellyfat diet," and "low protein diet," all top the search box.

Scientists are also offering up their solutions, like investing communities and employers in a nationwide weight-loss effort. Paging Richard Simmons.