Just as all morbidly obese people don't look alike, they all shouldn't receive the same treatment. English researchers have concluded that every obese person (everyone with a body mass index of 30 or higher) fits into one of six groups and that weight-loss strategies should be tailored accordingly.

The six groups are young males who are heavy drinkers, middle-aged adults who are unhappy and anxious, older people who despite living with physical health conditions are happy, younger healthy females, older affluent healthy adults, and individuals with very poor health.

The researchers said treatments and services must account for the particulars of each group. "Policies designed to tackle obesity and encourage healthier lifestyles often target individuals just because they are obese," said study author Mark Green at the University of Sheffield. "But a focus on just the group as a whole is not very efficient. We are all different, and different health promotion approaches work for different people. Our research showed that those in the groups that we identified are likely to need very different services and will respond very differently to different health promotion policies."

Body of Knowledge

One-quarter of the 206 bones in the human body are located in the feet.

Life in Big Macs

One hour of personal grooming (shaving, putting on makeup, styling hair, etc.) burns 136 calories (based on a 150-pound person), or the equivalent of 0.2 Big Mac.

Doc Talk

Foreverectomy: a surgical procedure that lasts a very long time.

Phobia of the Week

Amychophobia: fear of scratches or being scratched.

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record (short form) for hard-boiled eggs is 20 in 84 seconds, held by Adrian Morgan. After the feat, reporters scrambled for appropriate puns, often poaching from one another.

Best Medicine

One evening, a man visits his doctor.

The doctor asks what's wrong, and the man says, "I think I'm a moth."

The doctor is chagrined. "You think you're a moth?" he exclaims. "You don't need a doctor. You need a therapist."

"I know," replies the man. "I was on my way to see a therapist, but then I saw your light was on."

Observation

"When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded." — American comedian Steven Wright

Medical History

This week in 1940, in one of the most famous animal tests in medical history, eight mice were inoculated with a lethal dose of streptococci bacteria, and then four of them were injected with penicillin. The following day, the four mice given streptococci alone were dead, whereas the four with penicillin were healthy. University of Oxford scientists Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley had revived Alexander Fleming's work, producing the antibiotic by isolating the active ingredient from what Fleming had called "mold juice."

Epitaphs

"No comment." — American writer and environmentalist Edward Abbey (1927-89). The words are also reportedly the last ones he uttered before dying.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.