To my mind, the worst ads on the Internet are those cartoonish, animated ones about how to lose belly fat.
However, it turns out that belly fat is in fact a real problem, and one of the most important indicators of whether you're susceptible to some major health issues that could easily cut years off your life.
It's not just a matter of correlation, either, where people who have lots of belly fat might also happen to have higher incidences of certain health problems. Instead, it's a matter at least partly of causation, meaning it's the excess belly fat itself that causes health issues.
As Jane E. Brody wrote in the New York Times a little while back, you might want to measure your waist using a soft tape measure to see if you think you might be close, and see if you fall into the danger zone.
(No need to cheat; you're not going to tell anyone your result unless you want to.)
For men, a waist size of 40 inches is the number to be concerned about.
For women, 35 inches indicates you have a p…
