The general food group containing fats and sweets is the smallest food group, meaning that you should consume the least amount of foods from this group. Sweets tend to provide large amounts of “empty” calories with little nutritional value, while fats often provide large amounts of unhealthy fat and calories.

Call it your "muffin top," "middle-age spread," "jelly rolls" or "apron," but there's nothing harmless about belly fat. Excessive belly fat puts you at a high risk of developing chronic disease. Men with a waist larger than 37 inches and women with one larger than 31.

A child who is underweight due to a chronic medical condition, genetics, poor appetite or picky eating habits is at risk of low energy and illness. Your child's doctor can help you determine whether she needs to gain weight.

Losing weight is hard enough without having to sift through all sorts of conflicting information. Most weight loss fads are not healthy, but there are a few that have a germ of truth to them. Honey and vinegar both contain properties that can help you lose weight, though they are not a miracle cure.

Fad diets abound, with books, articles and websites attracting dieters who hope to shed extra pounds either for better health or to fit into a favorite pair of jeans.

At 6-foot-2 your ideal weight can fall into a nearly 50-pound ideal range. Even outside of this range your weight may still be healthy if your body fatness is within the ideal range.

Eating five small meals when you're trying to lose weight may help keep you from feeling deprived or overly hungry. It may also help stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels so that restricting your overall calorie intake is more manageable.

If your arm fat doesn't allow you to wear the clothing that fits your look, don't feel that you have to compromise your style. Instead, pledge to follow a fat-burning lifestyle built around a healthy diet and regular physical activity.

Too much body fat puts you at risk for chronic disease, but having too little can also endanger your health and well-being. Older adults or those recovering from illness sometimes experience unintentional weight loss that leads to very low body fat levels.

While it would be nice to choose where you lose fat, it isn't possible to spot-reduce and just get rid of your belly fat, and there isn't enough evidence to support the use of fat-burning supplements for this purpose. The best way to get rid of any extra belly fat is to eat less and exercise more.

Whether you call it a muffin top, love handle, or spare tire, there's nothing funny about excess fat in your lower back. It jiggles and hangs over your waistline and negatively affects your appearance. In order to burn off lower back fat, you'll have to integrate a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet.

Overweight and obesity are serious health problems that affect over 17 percent of children and teens in the United States. Being an overweight teen girl can affect your self-image and self-esteem and cause social problems.