Fat and Nasty

We're As Happy As A Pig In Slop. Forgive our country idioms but we're not quite back in our city mode. While out of the local jurisdiction and expanding into the Carolina we didn't publish the stories on obesity that were released during this period.
We're happy to report while those studies were more of the "we're going to hell in a hand basket variety" because we're so overweight. It gives us great pleasure to report that our extended bellies can now be attributed to something other than our slothful ways. Combine that study with another concerning our porcine friends and we're just giddy with the news. The next time someone suggests that our behaviors are anything but pristine we can always point them here and say we are the way we are to maintain the most optimum health.

It is with this in mind that we offer you the following: "Dirty pigs beat disease" - Immune system gets a boost from early exposure to bacteria. - Natasha Gilbert

Living like a pig could be good for you, according to research showing that dirty piglets pick up 'friendly' bacteria that help them to develop robust immune systems later in life. The results provide support for the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests that a lack of exposure to microbes in early life can affect development of the immune system and increase susceptibility to certain disorders, such as allergies and inflammatory bowel disease. - NATURE Magazine

Add to this the following stories (though related to severely overweight children - we've always considered our inner child a critical part of our personalities). According to the ABC News, Chicago Tribune, US News and World Report and others:

Obesity in some children tied to DNA, study finds -- Some children get severely obese because they lack particular chunks of DNA, which kicks their hunger into overdrive, researchers report. The British researchers checked the DNA of 300 children who'd become very fat, on the order of 220 pounds by age 10. They looked for deletions or extra copies of DNA segments.

So the next time you think about pointing your finger at our unborn obese bodies and ask when we're due - its not us its our DNA!