Well, of course, I'm joking. Or am I?

Interesting story in Time Magazine about how there's a huge surge in Internet searches for diets and diet-related topics during the first week of January, when so many of us pledge we're going to turn over a new leaf in the new year, and the leaf won't be slathered with sugary dressing.

But we are a country in need of a quick fix, and the list of top searches for the first week of 2007 tells a lot about why, despite our best intentions, we as a country are not making much headway in the war on weight. On the other hand, if you look at what the top two searches are, it's a big plus on the low-carb side. The "authorities" might not be buying into low-carb, but the Internet searchers are.

The Top 10 searches:
1) South Beach Diet
2) Atkins Diet
3) Diet Pills
4) Diet
5) Diet Plans
6) Cabbage Soup Diet
7) Free Diet Plans
8) You on a Diet
9) Special K Diet
10) Lemonade Diet

Of course, the article also points out that, by the second week of January, the diet-related searches have dropped off considerably, and that six of the top 10 food-related sites visited in January were pizza-delivery sites.