IN BRIEF

WACO, Texas (AP) Ä About 100 people gathered in the pouring rain in a memorial to the Branch Davidians who died two years ago in a blaze that ended a 51-day standoff with federal authorities.

There were gasps Wednesday when they heard about a deadly bombing at a federal building in Oklahoma City.

''We offer our sympathy to the families who have lost loved ones or are injured,'' said Clive Doyle, one of the survivors of the April 19, 1993, blaze at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel compound.

He dismissed speculation that the bombing, occurring on the second anniversary of the fire, could have been related.

''We're not responsible for it, nor do we condone it,'' he said.

At the ceremony, survivor David Thibodeaux rang a replica of the Liberty Bell each time the name of a Branch Davidian who perished was read. An honor guard sounded a 21-gun salute as about 100 people looked on.

ATLANTA (AP) Ä A 30-year study confirms that dieters don't increase their health risks by repeatedly losing weight only to gain it back, researchers say.

The study backs the report last October of a panel of experts at the National Institutes of Health, which reviewed 43 studies and concluded that it's more dangerous to be overweight than to worry about health risks from so-called yo-yo dieting. Those studies ranged in length from a few weeks to about 20 years.

Past research indicated that yo-yo, or chronic, dieting may disrupt metabolism, increase body fat and lead to heart problems.

But the new study, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, found that an overall weight gain increased risks for heart disease and diabetes. Fluctuations in weight over time did not.

''We didn't find any evidence for that,'' said Joel Grinker, author of the study and an obesity specialist with the Tufts center and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

''This adds to the evidence that it is weight gain and obesity that raise health risks,'' rather than chronic dieting, said Susan Yanovski, a member of the NIH panel and obesity and eating disorders program director at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

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