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Are you fat and happy? (If you’re NOT happy about being fat, you need Anne Strieber’s famous diet book!) Scientists have discovered that the major genetic contributor to obesity is also associated with an 8% reduction in depression. In other words, it’s both a "fat gene" and a "happy gene."

This study challenges the common perception of a reciprocal link between depression and obesity: That obese people become depressed because of their appearance and social and economic discrimination; depressed individuals may lead less active lifestyles and change eating habits to cope with depression that causes them to become obese.
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How some people stay positive despite evidence to the contrary has been discovered. Researchers have also discovered how our brains recognize family members (and whether or not recognizing relatives makes you happy depends on your family!)

Some brains are better than others when it comes to processing good news about the future. In extreme cases, anything negative is practically ignored, and this attitude brings positive health benefits.
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The happiest countries and happiest US states tend to have the most depression and the highest suicide rates. Why would this be?

Recent research has confirmed a little known and seemingly puzzling fact: many happy countries have unusually high rates of suicide. This observation has been made from time to time about individual nations, especially in the case of Denmark (which was recently voted the world’s happiest country). This new research found that a range of nations–including Canada, the United States, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland–each display relatively high happiness levels and yet also have high suicide rates.
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