Obese adults have more chronic health problems than smokers, heavy drinkers or the poor, according to a study released Wednesday.

A band that can be implanted around the stomach and tightened to help severely obese people lose weight won government approval Tuesday.

Rates for cancer cases and deaths steadily declined in the United States throughout the 1990s, led by drops in prostate, lung and colon cancers, researchers reported Tuesday.

TheWest Nile virus claimed a victim last night: Central Park. Mayor Rudy Giuliani ordered the famed park shut Monday night when a mosquito carrying the potentially fatal disease was found on the grounds — sending home tens of thousands of disappointed concertgoers who had planned to attend a free performance by the New York Philharmonic. The park was sprayed with an insecticide during the night in an effort to kill the mosquitoes. City officials say the spraying kills about 90 percent of the insects — leaving behind 10 percent that could still carry the disease. The spray operation was completed early this morning.

While natural disasters can bring massive suffering and death, the Red Cross says preventable diseases killed far more people in 1999. And a report issued by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies blames the nations of the world for not making public health a priority. Last year, 13 million people -- mostly children -- died from preventable diseases: AIDS, malaria, respiratory diseases and diarrhea. That is 160 times more deaths than those caused by natural disasters, including massive earthquakes in Turkey, floods in Venezuela and cyclones in India, the report said.