Like almost every dieter in America, Wendy Bassett has used all sorts of weight-loss products. Nothing worked, she said, until she tried Sensa: granules she scatters on almost everything she eats, and which are supposed to make dieters less hungry by enhancing the smell and taste of food. "Every time I touch a piece of food, I pour it on," said Ms. Bassett, 34, an accountant in Tyler, Tex. She has been using Sensa since February. So far, she said, she has lost 30 pounds.

The maker of Sensa claims that its effectiveness is largely related to smell: the heightened scent and flavor of food that has been sprinkled with Sensa stimulate the olfactory bulb — the organ that transmits smell from the nose to the brain — to signal the "satiety center" of the hypothalamus. Hormones that suppress appetite are then released. But can the manipulation of smell really lead to weight loss? A handful of niche products would have you believe just that.

In addition to Sensa, which has been available since last summer, there is SlimScents, aromatherapy diet pens filled with fruity or minty odors; a peppermint spray called Happy Scent; and the vanilla-doused Aroma Patch, which you wear on your hand, wrist or chest. Last month, Compellis Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Mass., began human trials on a nasal spray designed to do the opposite of what Sensa does: to curb the appetite by blocking rather than enhancing smell. "Eighty percent of what you perceive as taste is actually smell," said Christopher Adams, a molecular biologist and the company's founder. "The hypothesis is that if we can alter your sense of smell we can make food less palatable, because the hedonic effect — that is, the pleasurable effect you get from eating chocolate — won't be there."

Using smell to manipulate appetite may be an appealing premise, but only a few studies have been conducted, and some experts have doubts. "There's been a theory around for a number of years that if you saturate your sensory system that you'll not be as hungry," said Dr. Richard L. Doty, the director of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center in Philadelphia. "There needs to be more research done."

The Mayo Clinic's finding is surprising, and further research is under way to see if the link is real. But with bariatric surgery booming and even teenagers in their key bone-building years increasingly trying it, specialists say uncovering long-term side effects and how to counter them takes on new urgency.

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But doctors have long noted that the radical weight loss can speed bone turnover until the breakdown of old bone outpaces the formation of new bone. Silverberg cites recent studies showing that a year after gastric bypass, adults' hip density drops as much as 10 percent, raising concern about a common fracture site of old age. (Stomach banding causes less thinning because it doesn't alter nutrient absorption as much.)

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Surgeons routinely tell patients to take some extra calcium and vitamin D. Shikora estimates about half follow that advice, and other research suggests higher doses may be needed anyway as the obese tend to start out deficient in vitamin D.

A key next step will be to compare the patients who fracture with people of the same weight to see if their bone mass just had to adjust — or if something about surgery alters the complex soup of hormones and other factors that keep bones strong, thus requiring more than extra calcium.

"I broke up with cheese," Vardalos recently told People. "I always say like cheese keeps calling me and trying to get me to meet at a cheap motel but I'm really committed to just staying single for awhile." Although Vardalos says that she did "like 50 other things" to lose the weight, she claims that eliminating cheese from her diet "was the thing that changed my life." Vardalos, who calls her weight loss a "crazy thing," was at the festival to screen her new movie, My Life in Ruins. The film hits theaters June 5.

She was hypnotised and talked through every step of the medical procedure as if she were in an operating theatre. She was also told that her stomach was the size of a golf ball and now feels full if she tries to eat anything other than a small portion of food.

In four months since the treatment at the Elite Clinic in Marbella, Spain, her weight has dropped to around 11st 7lbs and her dress size from a size 22 to a 14.

"I have tried every other diet and exercise plan the world has to offer," Ms. Corns said. ‘I've tried tablets, WeightWatchers, Atkins, Slimfast, milkshakes and even a personal trainer, but none of them helped me.

"Now I am able to shed up to three pounds a week because I believe I have had a band fitted into my stomach. Bizarrely, I can remember every part of the 'procedure' - including being wheeled into theatre, the clink of the surgeon's knife and even the smell of the anaesthetic."

The new research, published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism and was conducted by the German health foods company Beiersdorf AG, now claims that anti-fat properties can be added to that list.

"In the industrialised countries, the rising incidence of obesity-associated disorders including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes constitutes a growing problem," said Marc Winnefeld, a nutritionist at the company, "We've shown that white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances".

Scientists tested extracts of white tea on laboratory-grown human fat cells or 'adipocytes' and found fat levels were reduced.

"The extract solution induced a decrease in the expression of genes associated with the growth of new fat cells," explained Mr Winnefeld, "while also prompting existing adipocytes to break down the fat they contain."

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious health problems ranging from jaundice and elevated liver enzymes, an indicator of potential liver injury, to liver damage requiring liver transplant. One death due to liver failure has been reported to the FDA. Other health problems reported include seizures; cardiovascular disorders; and rhabdomyolysis, a type of muscle damage that can lead to other serious health problems such as kidney failure.

Liver injury, although rare, was reported by patients at the doses of Hydroxycut recommended on the bottle. Symptoms of liver injury include jaundice (yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes) and brown urine. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, light-colored stools, excessive fatigue, weakness, stomach or abdominal pain, itching, and loss of appetite.

"The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risk. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they are experiencing symptoms possibly associated with these products," said Linda Katz, M.D., interim chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Greater amounts of physical activity than currently recommended may be necessary to prevent people from gaining weight, and to help them lose weight and keep it off, according to updated guidelines issued by the American College of Sports Medicine.

"In the midst of a genuine crisis in Americans' health related to what we eat and how little we move, these guidelines are meant to provide an understanding and clarification of the role of physical activity and its relationship to weight," Dr. Joseph E. Donnelly of the University of Kansas in Lawrence and chair of the advisory committee noted in a statement.

"Now that we have the latest information on how much physical activity is part of the equation, we can continue the educational process to help people who struggle with their weight," Donnelly added.

QVC's senior vice president and general counsel, Larry Hayes, says the company doesn't believe its ads were deceptive but agreed to the settlement to avoid further legal expenses.

The settlement requires West Chester-based QVC to pay $6 million to consumers who bought the products and a $1.5 million civil penalty. It was approved by a federal judge in Philadelphia on March 4.

Belinda tells PEOPLE of her decision to start the weight-loss program a year ago. She went on to lose 20 pounds in the first four months, "And I kept it off," she says. Although in the '80s she may have been singing "Our Lips are Sealed," she's more than happy to discuss how the plan's healthy-eating approach kept her hooked. "I'm not about deprivation at all," she says. "When I moved to the south of France 10 years ago it taught me to celebrate food and not make it an enemy - people in my business usually do. When this came along it was really easy for me," she says of the plan.

French scientists say they have found a drug that tricks the body into burning off fat even when on a high-fat diet. The University of Louis Pasteur team found the drug protected mice against weight gain and insulin resistance. The drug SRT1720 -- a chemical cousin of red wine extract resveratrol -- targets the protein SIRT1, which is thought to combat ageing, Cell Metabolism reports.

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The drug worked by shifting the metabolism to a fat-burning mode that normally takes over only when energy levels are low. At higher doses, the drug completely prevented weight gain. It also improved the rodents' blood sugar tolerance and insulin sensitivity, which are important for warding off diabetes. The mice showed no sign of side effects. However, the scientists say further studies are needed to test the drug's safety and efficacy before it could be used in humans.