People gain weight when the body takes in more calories than it burns off. Those extra calories are stored as fat. The amount of weight gain that leads to obesity doesn't happen in a few weeks or months. Because being obese is more than just being a few pounds overweight, people who are obese have usually been getting more calories than they need for years.

Genes - small parts of the DNA that people inherit from their parents and that determine traits like hair or eye color - can play an important role in this weight gain. Some of your genes tell your body how to metabolize food and how to use extra calories or stored fat. Some people burn calories faster or slower than others do because of their genes.

Obesity can run in families, but just how much is due to genes is hard to determine. Many families eat the same foods, have the same habits (like snacking in front of the TV), and tend to think alike when it comes to weight issues (like urging children to eat a lot at dinner so they can grow "big and strong"). All of these situations can contribute to weight gain, so it can be difficult to figure out if a person is born with a tendency to be obese or overweight or learns eating and exercise habits that lead to weight gain. In most cases, weight problems arise from a combination of habits and genetic factors. Certain illnesses, like thyroid gland problems or unusual genetic disorders, are uncommon causes for people gaining weight.

Sometimes emotions can fuel obesity as well. People tend to eat more when they are upset, anxious, sad, stressed out, or even bored. Then after they eat too much, they may feel bad about it and eat more to deal with those bad feelings, creating a tough cycle to break.

One of the most important factors in weight gain is a sedentary lifestyle. People are much less active today than they used to be, with televisions, computers, and video games filling their spare time. Cars dominate our lives, and fewer people walk or ride bikes to get somewhere. As lives become busier, there is less time to cook healthy meals, so more and more people eat at restaurants, grab takeout food, or buy quick foods at the grocery store or food market to heat up at home. All of these can contain lots more fat and calories than meals prepared from fresh foods at home.

Saturday night, stopped in at the Rocky Mt. Elk Foundation annual dinner in Milan. (There are also chapter dinners in Macomb, which husband Chuck and I attended recently, and in Lomax--among others!)

Regional Director Don has been a regular on this tour, as he always is; and was good to invite our attendance.

Talked with some old friends and met some new ones. I may not want to hunt an elk or an exotic animal myself, but I'll defend to the end your right to your weapon. It's the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution; and it's there for a reason.

Went on to Quincy and got in on the halfway point of a BIG birthday bash for Dave Nuessen, thrown by wife Adria. Dave was our campaign co-coordinator in 2004 and served Quincy twice as mayor. Dave was good to introduce me to the crowd--I told him he's getting birthday parties and political events mixed up!

Stayed in Quincy overnight at the home of Adams County Treasurer Jean Reddington and her family. Accompanied Jean to church the next morning and saw Bob and Anne Mays, good friends in Quincy--and met many of THEIR friends and fellow church-goers. Always widening that circle.....!

Ended with Sunday dinner by invitation of Virginia DeMoss at the new Curtis Creek retirement complex in Quincy.

Gotta go--headed to a meeting in Cambridge, in Henry County, to update the Republican Central Committee there on this campaign. ALWAYS a pleasure!

Remember our State of the Union viewing party tomorrow night in Macomb! Starts at 7:00 pm at the Parkside Sports Bar and Grill. Afterward we'll review the President's address. I'm especially interested in his agenda for health care reform, as I strongly believe health care and availability of coverage is the #1 issue which Congress should be addressing, and isn't. Tell me you don't know someone (and there's a good chance that "someone" is YOU) who struggles with having affordable health insurance, or any at all. For the employer, it has gone from A business cost, to THE business cost. For the employee, it becomes an ever-worsening situation, with higher cost shares and, often, constantly shifting insurers. And that hurts all of us.

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Spring is often thought of as the Valentine season, since it's what's in store for everyone by the time February 14 rolls around. On this day of hearts, treat your special girl to a necklace, a brooch or a pair of earrings that says just how much you love her. Though the heart shape is extremely popular, it doesn't have to be common or tacky: a heart-shaped brooch made of tiny diamonds, for example, speaks of sophistication and a fine eye. Neither does it have to be expensive: heart-shaped earrings or silver heart outline pendants could fit reasonably in one's budget. A thin silver band with hearts etched all around it would be affordable, and would make an especially fine gift in the bargain. Pearls jewelry stores