North Korea has developed a new weapon to combat its worst food shortage in nearly a decade - a noodle made of corn and soybeans that it says leaves people feeling fuller than ordinary noodles.

Development of the noodle reportedly represents a sort of technological breakthrough because soybeans don't contain any starch and, therefore, are difficult to make into noodles.

It is possible to be fat and fit at the same time, a surprising new study has revealed. In the first national study of its kind, researchers found that at least half of overweight adults, and close to a third of obese men and women, have normal blood pressure, cholesterol and other measures of heart health.

Researchers from the University of Michigan also found that close to a quarter of U.S. adults in the recommended-weight range had risk factors for heart disease or diabetes. That means some 16 million of them are at risk for heart problems, the study said.

It's good news for all couch potatoes, who could soon be able to use an exercise pill to keep the body trim and fit without having to move from the sofa.

Scientists have successfully tested a drug on mice that could deliver some of the benefits of exercise, even to sedentary people. In tests, mice were able to run 44 percent farther, suggesting humans may be able to do the same without prior training, researchers reported in the journal Cell.

People who have fat friends are more likely to put on some unwanted pounds as compared to people who have leaner friends, new research suggests. Calling it "imitative obesity," an international team including University of Warwick experts suggest fat friends can cause someone to put on weight too.

Researchers analyzed data on 27,000 people from across Europe and found that obesity is more of a sociological phenomenon than a physiological one, as people are subconsciously influenced by the weight of people around them.

In an attempt to help overweight officers get back in shape, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has hired a full-time diet coach to chalk out special diet plans for them.

Rana Parker, who joined the force in July, was working as a diet coach at Head Start, the federal aid program for children. Now she will target recruits and help instill in them good eating habits and finding time for balanced meals.