We know that Michelle Obama is big into fitness, and it looks like she’s a big fan of The Biggest Loser , too – she appeared on the show last week when the contestants stormed the White House. We caught up with the show’s trainer Bob Harper, still high from the experience, and asked him what working with the first lady was really like. Does she complain about squats? How’s her form when it comes to push-ups? Learn the answers and more when you watch the video.

Researchers have identified two genetic variations that appear to increase the risk of childhood obesity. The study authors took data from North American, Australian and European meta-analysis of 14 studies consisting of 5,530 obese children and 8,318 non-obese kids. The team compared the genetic data.  “When we surveyed all the genetic variation across the obese children and non-obese children, some variants were highly, statistically, overrepresented in the obese cases. We saw a genetic signature for the disease,” said lead investigator Struan Grant, associate director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia . The team identified two new childhood obesity related genes, one near the OLFM4 gene on chromosome 13, the other within the HOXB5 gene on chromosome 17.  Their results are published Sunday in Nature Genetics . While nutrition, physical activity and environment are factors in childhood obesity, this study implies a genetic relationship. “There is a genetic predisposition to childhood obesity, epidemiologists have been saying that,” Grant said. “The facts are bearing that out, as we see genetic variants associated with the trait. Some kids are obese, your genetic repertoire will interact with the environment. What your genetic load is will have a bearing on how your environment impacts your obesity risk.” The authors reasoned that "distilling the genetic component … should be easier in children, where environmental exposure and impact have occurred for a relatively short period in their lifetimes." The team also identified some of the same genes in the data for obese kids as those detected in adult studies. “We found some of those really kicked in early in life,” Grant said. “They’re strongly associated in children.” But these genetic variations don’t fully explain childhood obesity, he warned. The next step is to find more variants related to obesity to understand the full genetic picture. This study only involved children of European ancestry, so future studies would include kids of different ethnicities. “These genetic variants give us new signposts in the genome for new biological insights into childhood obesity because we are beginning to understand the genetic architecture of the disease. It gives us new knowledge to develop new drug agents and treatments that will be more efficacious in treating this common disorder,” Grant said. Filed under: Children’s Health , Genetics Tagged: Madison Park – CNNhealth.com Writer/Producer

The cookies and cakes of the season may have you feeling like you’re on carb overload. And since a lower-carb diet can help you shed a few pounds, you may be thinking that going on a Dukan diet may be your best bet when the New Year rolls around. But you don’t have to eliminate carbs altogether. Here are a few ways to cut carbs the healthy way. Practice the twice a week rule: If you can’t imagine a life without bread, you don’t have to give it all up. A new study found that just limiting carbs for two days a week is beneficial if you want to lose weight. Women on the study who cut carbs twice a week but ate regularly the rest of the time lost four more pounds than women on a Mediterranean-style diet. Good news if you don’t want to feel like you’re on a “diet” all the time! Read on for more simple ways to cut carbs.

Holiday season is here, which means it’s time to get giving! We’ve got you covered with our 2011 gift guides , including awesome ideas on what to pick up for the active guy in your life, your Harry Potter -obsessed pal, and even the most fashionable working girl. We’ll help you cross off the names on your gift list from now through the end of the month, so make sure to check back for the best picks across the network. Also, check out all of our holiday planning, tips, tricks, and inspiration as we gear up for the most festive month of the year! View Slideshow ›

The CDC’s zombie apocalypse just won’t die. As the Health Blog told you here on Wednesday , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to spice up its tired old advice on preparing for hurricanes and other disasters with a “Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness Guide.” That warning, posted Monday on a public health blog by Assistant Surgeon General Ali Khan, appears to have joined the world of the Undead. As of Friday afternoon, the CDC reported the post — advising people to stock up on food and water and first aid supplies to survive a zombie attack — had gotten nearly 1.2 million page views, compared to about 1,000 to 3,000 hits a CDC blog post usually gets over its entire lifespan of 10 days or so. Rear Admiral Khan’s zombie post is currently more popular than the CDC’s homepage, and traffic is “steadily increasing,” the CDC says, adding that “CDC” and “Zombie Apocalypse” were among the top 10 trends on Twitter Thursday. Now the CDC is following up Khan’s message with a  video contest. The agency is asking people to create 60-second videos showing how they’re preparing for any emergency (“hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, zombies…”) and send them to  www.twitter.com/CDCemergency by June 3. Winners will be chosen by the “CDC Zombie Task Force.” Best of all for Khan, who admits to posting the blog without approval from government higher-ups: his real message seems to be getting through. “People who read the blog actually are going out to get an emergency kit and make an emergency plan,” an excited Khan tells the Health Blog, citing informal data and reader posts. “This has been off the charts. Who would ever think a server would crash because people were trying to get public health information?” ( As we noted , the page with the blog post crashed midweek because it got so many hits.) The CDC cites reader responses such as the following as proof: “For high school graduation, we are now giving a medical kit and tool bag as gifts.” Of course, Khan might have trouble fending off the zombies, should they invade. The CDC’s budget was slashed 11% in fiscal 2011, putting it among the hardest-hit government agencies, with significant cuts for emergency preparedness. Khan has $1.4 billion in fiscal 2011, more than $100 million less than in the previous year, meaning fewer dollars to state and local health departments to protect the public from threats like “pandemics, Hurricane Katrina, or the unexpected,” he says. “This hurts our ability to provide support.” Public health preparedness dollars have been cut more than 30% since 2005, he notes. Fortunately, the zombie apocalypse preparedness campaign cost “zero,” Khan says — or rather, no more than it costs to come up with a regular public health blog post. What’s next? “I’ve been toying with an alien invasion for next year,” Khan says. Image: Everett Collection

Stars of the big screen stepped out in Hollywood tonight to salute film at the Oscars . The ladies dazzled in sequins, sparkle and glamour from their perfectly coiffed hair to their flawless manicures. We were there live on the red carpet and in the press room covering all the fashion and beauty as it happened on the red carpet – check out all our Academy Awards coverage below! Red-carpet fashion coverage: Vote on all of Fab’s fashion red carpet love it or hate it polls Who was best dressed ? Anne Hathaway rocks the Oscars stage in 7 looks – which one stole the show ? Battle of the stage stars: who had the best performance outfit ? Red-carpet trend: sirens on the red carpet Red-carpet trend: subtle sparklers Award worthy: see the couples that shined on Oscar’s red carpet ! Red-carpet beauty coverage: Check out all the hottest manicures and nail trends Poll: Which Oscar updo was your favorite ? Close up: see the hottest Oscars hairstyles from every angle What you didn’t see: best beauty looks from Elton John’s Vanity Fair viewing party How to get Natalie Portman’s luminescent purple palette How to get Mila Kunis’s sultry yet sweet makeup How to get Jennifer Lawrence’s voluminous and shiny locks See how to get these red carpet looks: Gwyneth Paltrow ‘s sleek and silver lamé gown Busy Philipps’s black, detailed mermaid dress Penelope Cruz ‘s red-hot sequined L’Wren Scott Rhea Durham’s strappy sandals, drop earrings, and a hard clutch Virginia Madsen’s black-and-white classic gown Check out what the winners had to say in the press room: Press room: The Social Network’s Aaron Sorkin says “My hat’s off to Mark Zuckerberg” Press room: Christian Bale missed Melissa Leo’s F-bomb because he was at the bar Press room: Melissa Leo talks Oscar campaign and her F-bomb Press room: Natalie Portman talks about “Dream-like” Oscar state and “Little dancer” baby Video: watch the Oscars auto-tune the movies ! Video: Gwyneth Paltrow performs “Coming Home” at the Oscars ! Poll: What did you think of Anne and James’s hosting performance ? Check out Buzz to see the full list of Academy Award winners !

A trip to Oakland’s Chinatown reminded me that the Chinese Lunar New Year is only a few days away. The two-week celebration is steeped in tradition (and superstition), and like most holidays, so much of it centers around food – dumplings, turnip cakes, and Buddha’s Delight are all staples. Not surprisingly, the holiday is also full of healthy foods like vegetables and fish. The added bonus is that these dishes are believed to bring luck and prosperity in the upcoming year. Here’s what I’ll be eating to celebrate the holiday for the next two weeks. Mandarin oranges and tangerines are symbolic of the Lunar New Year. Families often buy small potted trees and present the small citrus fruit as a gift of abundance and fortune to friends and relatives. Eat one on its own or add some slices to a salad – the fruit is an excellent source of Vitamins A and C. Noodles are traditionally eaten for luck in Asian cultures and symbolize long life. I’m a fan of soba noodles because they’re full of protein, iron, fiber, and amino acids. Try our light stir fry of soba noodles with tofu and peanut sauce . See more healthy Chinese New Year foods when you read more. Yusheng is a raw fish salad made up of heart healthy salmon and lots of fresh shredded veggies like daikon, yams, cucumbers, and ginger. The dish is usually eaten on the seventh day of the holiday and symbolizes abundance in the upcoming year. If making Yusheng seems daunting, trying rolling your own healthy sushi at home. Melon seeds are commonly eaten during the Lunar Year to bring fertility. Sold mostly in Asian grocery stores, melon seeds are often substituted with pumpkin seeds when they’re unavailable. A great source of manganese, phosphorous, and magnesium. Go meat free – it’s a Lunar New Year tradition. Because so much of the two-week holiday revolves around food, individuals eat a strict vegetarian diet on the 13th day as a way to naturally cleanse the body . Source: Flickr user avlxyz

The study was sponsored by ID Experts, which sells services to protect against and respond to data breaches.

Also: food makers to offer new front-of-package label; Glaxo whistleblower; Harvard Med School gets $30 million for primary care.

If you have to make adjustments and amendments in life so that you can get a good night’s sleep, it is worth doing this – it isn’t just so that you are well rested and get up refreshed to face another day, you need good quality sleep for a number of reasons. Make the time and the effort to give yourself a good night’s sleep. Sleep is healing and restoring and remember it is free and well worth making the effort for! Use the ‘refreshed’ test to gauge if you got enough sleep – if you wake alert and refreshed in the morning, then you are probably getting enough rest and sleep is working for you in the following ways: Proper growth hormone production happens when the body is at rest. This helps the body absorb important nutrients and also helps in cell renewal and healing. The hormone also helps to stimulate the tissues of the bone marrow, to strengthen the body’s immune system. The hormone Melatonin is also produced when asleep. This hormone slows down growth rates of tumors, curbs infection and improves the functioning of the immune system. It increases the antibody content of one’s saliva as well. Improper, incomplete or insufficient (interrupted) sleep can cause one to develop chronic fatigue symptoms and may even lead to fibromyalgia. Digg this! Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on del.icio.us Tweet This! Share this on Facebook Share this on Blinklist Buzz up! Post on Google Buzz