It would be easy to start talking about health care reform, but I (Scott Uloth) think there has been enough space devoted to that subject in the last few weeks. Having done my civic duty in meeting with Rep. Brad Ellsworth, I do reserve the right to return to that subject at a later date.

Let's discuss health topics from those who deliver health care on a daily basis. Today, the subject is sleep apnea.

Have you heard it? The cackling about cankles?

Maybe the new buzz on this stocky body part has you shunning shorts or sandals. Or maybe you're doing leg exercises like mad to plump up those calf muscles.

A cankle -- if you're in the dark -- is the merging of calf and ankle into one continuous, taperless chunk of leg. It's a "condition" recently spotlighted on TV morning shows and talk shows, on the pages of Facebook and the Wall Street Journal, and on such Web sites as www.saynotocankles.com.

Obese women who manage to shed excess pounds before becoming pregnant may be able to break the cycle of inherited weight problems and pass along better health to their children, a new study shows.

A moderate aerobic exercise program, without weight loss, can improve insulin sensitivity in both lean and obese sedentary adolescents, according to a study that will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

"Because weight loss can be difficult to achieve and maintain in obese sedentary children, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a controlled exercise program, without any diet intervention and with no intention of weight loss, would improve fat distribution and sensitivity to insulin," senior author Agneta Sunehag, MD, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.

Researchers are recommending that officials in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia rethink their efforts to combat obesity in children because the current strategies -- emphasizing healthy diets and exercise -- aren't working.

In clinical terms, extreme or severe obesity is defined as a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it has adverse affects on health and physical functioning. It is measured by Body Mass Index, or BMI, with Class 3 (morbid obesity) beginning at 40 kg/m2. In generalized terms, it is about 100 pounds over ideal body weight.

Leslie Fuller tried to stick to her shopping list on a recent grocery run. Instead, she found herself venturing down the candy aisle, throwing bags of Hershey's Miniatures and M&M's into her cart.

"I should just put them down on the seat and sit on them," said Fuller, a paralegal in Las Vegas. "That's where they're going to go - on my behind. I eat them because it makes me feel better."

Obese mothers who underwent weight-loss surgery prior to pregnancy had a lower prevalence of obese children than siblings born before the same obese mothers had the bariatric surgery.

Exercise helps prevent weight regain after dieting by reducing appetite and by burning fat before burning carbohydrates, according to a new study with rats. Burning fat first and storing carbohydrates for use later in the day slows weight regain and may minimize overeating by signaling a feeling of fullness to the brain. The University of Colorado Denver study also found that exercise prevents the increase in the number of fat cells that occurs during weight regain, challenging the conventional wisdom that the number of fat cells is set and cannot be altered by dietary or lifestyle changes.