ARE YOU REALLY FAT -- OR JUST BLOATED?

ARE YOU REALLY FAT -- OR JUST BLOATED?

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (Wireless Flash) -- A physician in California has good news for fat folks: you aren't really fat, you're just bloated. Dr. Elson M. Haas estimates about half of all overweight Americans are chubby because of something he calls "false fat" -- tissue swelling caused by a negative reaction to food. The so-called false fat can add the appearance of up to 25 pounds and is caused by common foods like milk, wheat and sugar. Haas says symptoms of false fat include constant heartburn, swollen ankles and frequent congestion or allergies. He says you can shed false fat just by determining which foods you're sensitive to and eliminating them from your diet. Dr. Haas is the author of "The False Fat Diet" (Ballantine).