On Saturday, veterinarians at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center surgically implanted a device at the base of his right hind leg to take weight off an abscess there.

NPR: Ailing Barbaro Recovering from New Operation

For years, Greg Duval piled on pounds while telling himself "I just needed to go for a run" to take off extra weight, he says.

WSJ: The Case for Lying to Yourself

Individual activities such as running helped him take off the weight.

CNN: Weight losers combat fear of exercise, schoolyard torment

If you're looking for a product to help with more significant discomfort, over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen given in the appropriate dose for a child's weight can take the edge off of teething pain.

CNN: How can I soothe a teething baby's gums?

But one thing I doubt will ever be proved false is that it's much easier not to gain the weight in the first place than to take it off later.

CNN: What you thought you knew about obesity is wrong

We had a couple people at CTIA last week -- people whose words carry weight -- tell us off the record that the next major version of Android would take big strides toward stopping the ugly trend toward severe fragmentation that has plagued the platform for much of this and last year.

ENGADGET: Exclusive: Android Froyo to take a serious shot at stemming platform fragmentation