Is Your Birth Control Making You Fat?

Most women assume that when they start taking birth control, their weight will creep up. Now, we finally know the truth. Researchers recently put this theory to the test and analyzed three types of contraceptives. Find out which one packed on the pounds...

Scientists at the University of Texas at Galveston followed more than 700 women on birth control over the course of three years. Some of them took oral contraceptives, others used non-hormonal methods (like condoms or getting their tubes tied) and the last group used the birth control shot, called DMPA. Researchers discovered that women on the birth control shot gained an average of 11 pounds, increased their body fat by 3.4 percent and were more likely to become obese.

Health Controversy: This Woman Calls Herself an "Abortion Addict"

No matter where you stand on the abortion issue, I think we all can agree that this story is very, very sad...

In her book, Impossible Motherhood, Irene Vilar writes, writes about her "addiction" to abortion. Over the course of 15 years (she's married), she's had 15 abortions.

While the details of Vilar's life are both sad and shocking, it's clear that her repeated trips to abortion clinics gave her sense of "control" that she couldn't find elsewhere.

"I would take my pills and skip a day, a few, and often give up on the whole month, promising myself I would do better the next time," she writes. "Not knowing how a pill or a handful of them would affect my fertility, my days took on a balancing act, and a high of sorts accompanied the days before my period was due. [...] At times the high took place before pregnancy, waiting for a missed period, my body basking in the promise of being in control. At other times it was the pregnancy itself, the control I embodied if only for a couple of months, and still other times it was leaving the abortion clinic, feeling that once again I had succeeded in a narrow escape. The time of my drama was my time, no one could interrupt it, and what was more important, I could not interrupt it to meet other's needs."

Guess The Most Stressful Part of the Day--For Everyone--And What You Can Do About It

If you had to name the most stressful time of the day for you, what would it be? I caught a Good Morning America Weekend segment on Saturday while sipping coffee and was surprised to hear this...

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According to Dr. Woodson Merrell of Beth Israel Medical Center and author of The Source, the most stressful part of your entire day is the moment when you wake up. More heart attacks happen in the morning hours, he says, than any other time of the day. The logic is that transitioning from sleep to wake is quite stressful on our bods (loud, obnoxious alarm clocks aren't much help either).

Still we have to get up (nothing healthy about staying in bed all day, as comforting as this sounds sometimes--ha!). What can you do? He suggests resisting the urge to bolt to the shower first thing. Instead, sit on the side of your bed for a few minutes and take several deep breaths.

Got Belly Fat? Good News For Women Who Want It Gone

We all have some degree of belly fat--but some of us more than others. I'll admit, I'm far from bikini ready thanks to my sweet little four month old, Russell. A new study sheds light on how to blast that annoying belly fat...

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Belly fat is no good. Not only is it embarrassing and a downer to the ol' body image, it may also be dangerous. Researchers have long known that visceral fat (sounds gross, doesn't it?), which is the technical term for belly fat, may be linked to heart disease and diabetes.

But here's the news that's kind of interesting: In a study that looked at rodents and belly fat, researchers from the University of Illinois found that you don't have to work out like Madonna to zap fat around your mid section (but, here's how to get sculpted arms like hers--that is, if you want them). Moderate exercise works just fine, say researchers.

Do You Want to Be a Mother? New Stats Show a Decline in Women Having Babies

Are you a mother? Do you know if you want to have kids or not? I was on the fence for a long time until I had my two boys, but new research sheds light on a surprising trend. Apparently fewer women are becoming mothers ...

The Washington Post reports that nearly one in five American women in her early 40s is childless. That's double the childless 40-somethings compared to the 1970s, marking a shocking increase in women who either are uninterested in becoming mothers or just don't plan to have children (the study focused on biological kids, not adopted). (Oddly, those with an advanced degree--master's or higher--were more likely to have children by their 40s.)

Body Image: Are You Obsessed With Looking and Staying Young? (Why Many of Us Are)

I have a confession: The other day at the store I bought some anti-aging beauty products--for the first time. Did I mention that I'm 30? Maybe I've gotten to "the age" when you start checking for gray hairs and smile lines and under-eye puffiness--things I never really thought about much in my twenties. The quest to hang on to our youthfulness, it turns out, is a new American phenomenon...

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In this article about how more people--even younger people--are turning to anti-aging cosmetics, treatments, surgeries, even new clinics specializing in "age management" to maintain their youthfulness, I found this quote from a 23-year-old woman in Chicago: "I'll age until I'm 25. Then I'm over it." In other words, she'll allow herself to age to 25, then it's time to start getting serious about turning back the clock.

Are Your Friends Making You Fat?

It might sound like an outrageous idea, that your pals may be to blame for the extra 10 pounds you've gained this year. But think about it: Isn't it tempting to order chocolate ganache cake with the gals, especially when everyone's doing it? Research, in fact, shows a correlation between the friends you keep and your weight.

A study last year found that obseity is actually "contagious"--well, socially contagious. In other words, if your friends are packing on pounds, you're likely to do the same. Not too encouraging, is it?

Find out if your pals are a bad influence on your diet and weight loss goals by taking Glamour.com's new quiz.