Extra Pounds: Worry Won't Help

Fat is a fact and medical experts say the more you worry about it, the more difficult it is to shed.

A study by the Stanford University School of Medicine showed that people who were the most unhappy with their weight had the greatest difficulty sticking to diets and fitness programs. Much of the problem was attributed to embarrassment about exercising in public.

Researchers examined the case histories of would-be weight losers for patterns of problems. They found those who have the most difficulty in slimming down -- even when they combine exercise and dieting -- can be split into two groups.

Those with a history of repeatedly losing and regaining weight made up one group. The second was composed of those people very worried about their weight even if they were not particularly fat. The researchers say dieting alone -- without exercising -- rarely helped any efforts to lose weight.