British researchers said that women who eliminated carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, pasta and potatoes from their diet for two days each week lost an average of nine pounds in four months, compared to women who had a 1,500-calorie, Mediterranean-style diet every day. (They lost just five pounds in the same period of time.)

The researchers' goal was to develop a diet that people could stick with, particularly women with a high risk of breast cancer. Obesity is a known risk factor for the disease.

Besides helping take pounds off, the intermittent diet also boosted other markers of health, including levels of insulin and leptin. The latter is a hormone that helps regulate appetite and is associated with tumor development.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

An adult typically breathes in seven quarts of air each minute.

GET ME THAT. STAT!

The top five countries surveyed with the greatest percentage of people who said their life was boring were Turkey, Mexico, United States, South Korea and Greece, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of showering burns 136 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of 0.2 Big Macs. It also wastes more than 130 gallons of water.

COUNTS

23.6 — Percentage of all states' fiscal spending devoted to Medicaid in 2011.

Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

It's an old saw that marriage produces happier, healthier, longer-lived people. If so, we're in trouble. A new analysis of U.S. Census data shows just 51 percent of American adults are married today, compared to 72 percent 50 years ago. Folks are also putting off marriage longer. The average age for getting married now is 26.5 years for females, 28.7 for males.

DOC TALK

Dyspnea — shortness of breath.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Phagophobia — fear of swallowing.

NEVER SAY DIET

The world's speed-eating record for cheesecake is 11 pounds in 9 minutes, held by Sonya Thomas.

HYPOCHONDRIAC'S GUIDE

Cold urticaria is an allergic reaction to cold, resulting in hives or large, itchy red welts on skin exposed to a cold stimulus, such as an ice cube. The condition is usually temporary, but can become chronic. It can be inherited or acquired, most often occurring between the ages of 18 and 25. Some antihistamines help treat the condition, but the usual therapy is simply to stay warm.

OBSERVATION

"Despite all our toil and progress, the art of medicine still falls somewhere between trout casting and spook writing."

— American novelist and playwright Ben Hecht (1894-1964)

EPITAPHS

"Lector, si monumentum requiris circumspice" or "Reader, if you seek his monument, look around."

— English architect and astronomer Christopher Wren (1632-1723). The epitaph was written by his son, noting his father's burial in St Paul's Cathedral, London, which the senior Wren designed.

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.