Welcome to “FitnessMantra Weekend”, your once-a-week health news update. As always you can also stay updated with the latest in fitness news by subscribing separately to the Fitness Mantra del.icio.us feed.

First the good news: an increasing percentage of both adult male and female participants in a national telephone survey in the United States reported regular physical activity. CBS News says the women percentage rose from 43% in 2001 to about 47% in 2005, while for men that number rose from 48% to 50%. The problem? Obesity is still on the rise and so is the incidence of weight-related conditions like heart-disease and diabetes.

If you think that is paradoxical, consider this: exercise can at most contribute about 15-20% toward a weight-loss effort. Yes, your diet is still the biggest factor that can affect your weight and in fact some researchers like Gary Taubes (author of the recently released “Good Calories, Bad Calories” go so far as to say that all exercise does is make you hungry! While there is a lot more to exercise than that, I do tend to agree with the concept in general: if all you are doing to lose weight is increase your activity with no change in diet, then your chances of success are slim, indeed.

So maybe the news is not so surprising after all.

More from this week’s top health and fitness stories follow …

1. Just like with people, diabetes rising in pets: “There is no question from what I know that is published in the literature that obesity is on the rise, No. 1, and No. 2, diabetes is on the rise right along with it”
2. AMA urges food makers to cut salt: Think cooking the perfect Thanksgiving dinner is stressful? Something else is far more likely to raise your blood pressure: salt hidden in all those goodies.
3. Exhibit highlights JFK’s push for fitness: When it came to encouraging fitness, few did more to get Americans off the couch than John F. Kennedy.
4. 15 festive stay-slim treats: Use this guide to help you choose delicious holiday foods that won’t wreck your diet.
5. Most, even underweight, want to weigh less: Fifty percent of underweight U.S. women want to lose weight, or remain the same weight, while most overweight women yearn to lose weight, but not enough.
6. Thanksgiving meal doesn’t have to be a diet-buster: All you need is a dash of self-control and a pinch of sound planning.
7. Oh, man, I gained five pounds on turkey dinner: […] you’ve probably heard someone else say it: “I bet I put on five pounds at Thanksgiving dinner.” The good news is, that’s virtually impossible.
8. Prostate cancer harder to spot in obese men: Doctors reading the results of a blood test widely used to screen for prostate cancer can be fooled into thinking obese men are disease-free
9. People walk more wearing pedometer: A $20 fitness gadget stood up to multiple research studies, helping people walk an additional mile each day
10. Competitive eating gives some a bad taste: Planning to gorge yourself this Thanksgiving? Don’t flatter yourself, amateur.
11. More Americans exercising, though obesity rates going nowhere: study: More U.S. adults are getting physical - or at least that’s what they’re telling researchers.
12. Lack of sleep can be weighty issue for new moms: As if new mothers don’t have enough challenges. Now they need to get adequate sleep if they want to keep postpartum weight off
13. If you overeat, get back on track fast: This shouldn’t come as a surprise: Thanksgiving is not the green light to a six-week indulgence that precedes the waddle back to the gym Jan. 2.
14. Cost of obesity ‘over-estimated’: A major government study has over-estimated the future cost of obesity to the UK by at least £10bn, according to a BBC investigation.
15. The skinny on cholesterol: Doctors are virtually unanimous in agreeing that exercise increases HDL, so a healthy heart requires at least a moderate amount of sweat.
16. Watch your weight; it’s the holidays: Thanksgiving cooks up all kinds of thoughts about food. But what it can really add up to is this: two pounds.
17. Sneaky little slim-down tricks: Health magazine went to the top weight-control experts for their No. 1 tips to get the weight off now. Take a look.
18. From Groaning Board to Growling Stomach: It’s not your imagination if it sometimes seems as if your stomach has a mind of its own.

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Have a great weekend!

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• Obesity: Not just diet and exercise alone?
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If falling leaves, 4-day weekends and visiting relatives did not prove sufficient for you, then surely the smell of freshly baked goodies from the next cubicle at work should settle the matter once and for all: the Holiday Season is indeed upon us. And along with the promise of long-planned family reunions and fun-filled evenings comes the dreaded uninvited - and often, inevitable - guest: weight gain.

With dire warnings to watch your weight and advice to get back on track if you overeat already showing up in the media, it’s time for some preventive action and that’s exactly what folks from Health magazine thought as well.

Sneaky little slim-down tricks featured on CNN gives you a list of the Number 1 tips from various health and weight-control experts. Included are such gems as “Sneak Snacks before meals” and “Use smart portion control by using your hand as a guide”.

What tips will you use to keep in shape during and after this calorie-filled Holiday Season?

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