Our hormones take on an even more male-like picture. Weight shifts upwards, from the hips and bottom towards the belly.

When women diet they often make two big mistakes that can actually result in weight gain -- skip breakfast and ditch dairy. But in reality, eating breakfast and including 24 ounces of milk each day are two small steps that could make a significant difference in achieving a healthy weight.

You may also need to up the ante in terms of burning body fat by changing the kind of exercise you do, especially if you've been doing it for a long time. As we age we also lose body tone, so doing exercise that helps to build muscle tone can also help improve your shape.

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.

National surveys and other studies have told us that the United States has a major weight problem, but this study suggests that we could have an even more serious degree of overweight and obesity (cases) over the next few decades.

I have this view that losing weight is easy, keeping it off is hard because keeping it off is the discipline.