That band of fat around your abdomen gets called many things, i.e. beer belly, muffin top and worse. Medically speaking, it's called the omentum, a sheet of fat that covers the intestines, stomach and liver.

Although the omentum is associated with obesity, not a good thing, it also helps keep you healthy. Aside from serving as a protective cushion, it's the first line of defense against toxins and infection. Cells in the fat layer collect antigens, bacteria and other pathogens circulating in abdominal fluid. If something seems threatening, they signal an immune response.

On the other hand, if the omentum isn't doing its job, it can be a breeding ground for cancers, especially gastrointestinal and ovarian.

So, a bit of belly fat is a good thing.

I Was Having a Ball

A new study in the Journal of Athletic Training says the most dangerous of collegiate ball-contact sports — that is, sports in which you hit a ball as opposed to, say, football where you hit other people — is women's softball, followed by women's field hockey and men's baseball.

One third of injuries were to the hand or wrist, with blows to the face coming in second as the most common injury.

Just a word to the wise for weekend warriors.

Body of Knowledge

The average woman is roughly six inches shorter than the average man (5-feet-9 inches versus 5-feet-3 inches). Those heights have stabilized in recent years after steady growth, suggesting that Americans may have maxed out in terms of stature.

Get Me That, Stat!

Adolescents who've been hospitalized due to injuries from drinking, drug use or self-harm are five times more likely to die by suicide in the subsequent decade than their peers, according to new research out in the Lancet.

Number Cruncher

A serving of edamame (soybeans boiled in their pods) (56 grams) contains 85 calories, 27 from fat. It has 3 grams of total fat or 5 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 220 milligrams of sodium (9 percent); 8 grams of total carbohydrates (3 percent); 3 g of dietary fiber (12 percent); 1 g of sugar and 6 g of protein.

Counts

6: Ranking of Alzheimer's among leading causes of death in U.S.

55: Increase in death rate from Alzheimer's between 1999 and 2014

25: Percentage of Alzheimer's deaths that occurred at home in 2014, up from 14 percent in 1999

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Doc Talk

UBI - Unexplained Beer Injury, typically a patient who appears in the emergency room with an injury sustained while intoxicated that he or she can't explain.

Phobia of the Week

Coprastasophobia: fear of constipation

Never Say Diet

The Major League Eating record for Aebleskiver, which are spherical Danish pancakes or puffs, is 87 in eight minutes, held by Matt Stonie. Aebleskivers represent a new competitive category for professional eaters, who apparently have run out of other foods.

Best Medicine

A Freudian slip is when you say one thing, but mean your mother.

Observation

Health is merely the slowest way someone can die. —Author unknown (but probably dead)

Self Exam

Q: Do feet get bigger with age?

A: It's possible. Years of wear and tear on tendons and ligaments can cause them to weaken and stretch, which in turn flattens the arch, allowing feet to become wider and longer. It doesn't happen to everyone, but persons who are overweight, prone to swollen feet or ankles or who have certain medical conditions like diabetes are more likely to "outgrow" their shoes in later life. The average gain is one shoe size by age 70 or 80.

Curtain Calls

British aristocrat George Herbert, the fifth earl of Carnavon, was the first to die from the alleged "King Tut's Curse" in 1923. The curse supposedly states that anyone who disturbs the tomb of the Egyptian Boy King will experience an untimely death. Herbert was the main financial backer of Howard Carter's expedition, which discovered Tut's tomb in 1922. A year later, Herbert was bitten on the face by a mosquito. He accidentally cut the bite wound while shaving, which became seriously infected, leading to blood poisoning and eventually a fatal case of pneumonia.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.