Estimated annual price tag for the United States caused by Americans' expanding waistlines, according to Gold's Gym-sponsored research titled "Fat-O-Nomics": $122.9 billion

Estimated amount that obese Americans lose annually out of their own pockets (based on the median U.S. salary of $48,451): $10,000

Source: Gold's Gym.

Rank of Philadelphians as the most generous tippers in the nation, according to a Zagat survey: 1

Average tip -- as a percentage of the bill -- left by those from the City of Brotherly Love: 19.6

Countrywide average: 19

Source: Zagat.

Number of high-income countries that offer no paid parental leave, according to a Center for Economic and Policy Research report: 2 (United States and Australia)

In the United States, total guaranteed (non-transferable) weeks of unpaid leave for two-parent family under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): 24 weeks (12 for mother; 12 for father)

In terms of total guaranteed time off from work, rank of the U.S. out of 21 high-income countries: 20

Rank of Switzerland, in terms of time off from work (14 weeks of protected leave, though financial support is paid at 80 percent of a mother's income): 21

Paid leave offered to mother or father in Sweden: 78 weeks

Source: Council on Contemporary Families.

Percentage of hiring managers who said they are willing to negotiate compensation for top candidates, according to a survey by CareerBuilder.com: 65

Percentage of hiring managers who said Generation Y employees (born between 1979 and 1999) are the most difficult to recruit, perhaps because of high expectations about pay, career advancement, flexible schedules and overall work environment: 56

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of college students who say they are educated about money management and understand the consequences of debt, according to a poll for Western Union Payment Services conducted by Javelin Research: 84

Percentage who still say they wish they had a plan to help decrease their debt: 50

Source: Western Union Payment Services.

Percentage of finance and accounting professionals who think the United States is currently experiencing a recession, according to a poll by Ajilon Finance for the Institute of Management Accountants: 65

Percentage who feel the economic uncertainty is making their jobs more complex: 54

Source: Ajilon Office.

Percentage of U.S. workers who own pets, according to a national survey of working adults commissioned by Workplace Options: 60

Percentage of workers who are currently stressed by their job and for whom convenience services can help reduce worker anxiety over the competing daily demands of work and family: 72

Source: Workplace Options.

Rank of the United States with 590,200 international students in 2007, Great Britain with 318,400 and Germany with 246,000 on the list of worldwide destinations for foreign students, according to the 2008 edition of the survey "Wissenschaft -- weltoffen," co-edited by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD): 1, 2, 3

Source: German Embassy.

Percentage of U.S. adults who purchase natural and/or organic foods, according to the Whole Foods Market consumer survey findings: 74

Percentage of U.S. adults who indicated that they don't want to compromise on the quality of the food they buy -- even with today's rising food prices: 79

Source: Whole Foods Market.

Percentage of U.S. gamers who are women, according to a report published by industry research firm IBISWorld on the video gaming industry: 38

Average age of video game players (Note: not the teenage boys of the past): 35

Average age of those buying video games: 39

Source: IBISWorld.

Idle Thought

"The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." -- John Ruskin

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Calculated annual cost to taxpayers of tax and accounting loopholes that encourage excessive executive pay, according to the 15th annual Executive Excess report from the Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy: $20 billion

Amount accounted for by stock-option accounting double standard: $10 billion

Amount accounted for by unlimited deductibility of executive compensation: $5.2 billion

Amount of the $20 billion accounted for by preferential capital-gains treatment of carried interest: $2.6 billion

Source: United for a Fair Economy.

Percentage of parents who say that parent involvement was a key factor in student achievement, according to the results of an independent, nationwide survey by Pearson: 96

Percentage of parents who felt achievement would improve with better communication between school and home: 95

Source: Pearson Education/Pearson Scott Foresman.

Average percentage pay increase planned by U.S. employers in 2009, according to the "2008/2009 U.S. Compensation Planning Survey" from Mercer: 3.7

Expected percentage base-pay increases in 2009 for the highest-performing employees (14 percent of the workforce): 5.6

Expected percentage base pay increases in 2009 for the weakest performers (7 percent of the workforce): 0.6

Source: Mercer.

Estimated annual value of books in the religious products market, according to a study by Packaged Facts: $6 billion

Percentage increase in the overall religious products market between 2004 and 2008: 21

Amount this percentage increase represents: $1 billion

Source: Packaged Facts.

Percentage of Americans who say economic growth and development is more important to their region than protecting the environment, according to a survey by Harris Interactive: 63

Source: Harris Interactive.

Rank of overpacking on the list of the biggest mistakes travelers make, according to a poll of U.S. Tour Operators Association member companies: 1

Source: Kundell Communications.

Percentage of Americans who use at least one electronic device in the bathroom, according to American Standard's 2008 Bathroom Habits Survey: 88

Percentage who read their mail in the bathroom -- both snail mail and e-mail: 33

Percentage who talk on the phone: 15

Percentage who watch TV: 3

Source: American Standard.

Ranks of Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University on the list of America's Best National Universities, according to the U.S. News Media Group's 2009 edition of America's Best Colleges: 1, 2, 3, 4 (tie)

Ranks of Amherst College, Williams College and Swarthmore College on the list of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges: 1 (tie), 3

Source: U.S. News Media.

Percentage of parents who say that they are working additional hours at their current job so they can pick up the tabs (and mortgages, car payments, grocery bills, etc.) that have increased, according to a Sittercity.com survey: 42

Percentage of stay-at-home parents who are now going back to work: 27

Percentage of working parents who have taken on a second job: 8

Source: Sittercity.com.

Percentage of high-net-worth business owners -- whose companies have at least $10 million in annual revenue -- who participate with their family in charitable activities, according to a SunTrust Bank Private Wealth Management study: 72

Percentage of business owners who cited a spouse or partner as their greatest influence in making charitable decisions: 81

Source: SunTrust Banks Inc.

Idle Thought

"The perfection of a clock is not to go fast, but to be accurate." -- Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of workers who say they stay in contact with work while on vacation, according to a survey conducted by CareerBuilder: 25

Percentage of employees who say they have lied to their employers and claimed that they couldn't be reached on vacation: 7

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

When Washington, D.C., bartenders were asked who was the better tipper, percentage who said Democrats, according to a survey issued by Beam Global Spirits and Wine Inc.: 60

Percentage who said Republicans: 38

Percentage who said Democrats have the better pick-up lines: 74

Percentage who said Republicans: 14

Source: Clarus.

In the past nine months, number of fewer miles that Americans drove than they did during the same period a year ago, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Transportation: 53.2 billion

Source: Orlando Business Journal.

Percentage of Americans who know someone at their current or past workplace who has been passed over for a job because they didn't have the right degree, according to a study by eLearners.com: 19

Percentage of respondents who say they themselves have been denied a job at some point for not having a degree: 10

Source: eLearners.com.

Percentage of U.S. households that have a video-capable mobile phone, according to market research firm Parks Associates: 33

Percentage of households with the technology that have never used it: 56

Source: Parks Associates.

Percentage of Americans who say they alone are responsible for their health and agree that lifestyle choices directly impact their healthcare costs, according to a survey conducted by The Vitality Group: 82

Percentage that nevertheless say they should not bear any part of the responsibility of paying for their health care: 44

Source: The Vitality Group.

Percentage of teens who expressed an interest in learning more about managing money, according to Capital One Financial Corp.: 50

Percentage of teens who have taken a personal finance class in school: 14

Percentage who say that what they know about managing money, they learned from their parents: 69

Percentage who did not have this discussion last year: 36

Source: Capital One Financial Corp.

Percentage of U.S. employees who are considering changing jobs to improve their commute times, according to a survey conducted by Business Week Research Services for TransitCenter Inc.: 26

Percentage of U.S. employees who say their commute to work is getting worse: 48

Percentage of employees who say they expect their companies to take the lead in easing their commuting difficulties: 65

Source: TransitCenter.

Percentage of American workers who are currently worried about something when it comes to their job, according to the Adecco USA Workplace Insights survey: 81

Ranks of high gas prices, a stagnant paycheck and work-life balance on the list of their main concerns: 1, 2, 3

Source: MWW Group.

Percentage of undergraduates, graduates and recent alumni who will not use their network to work their way into a job by proactively connecting to an employee in their target company, according to a 2008 CareerXroads and the job site AfterCollege.com: 66

Percentage who responded that they are extensively researching companies and positions in which they are interested: 78

Percentage who are actively seeking advice and help from parents or career services: 22

Source: CareerXroads.

Idle Thought

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." -- Bob Dylan

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600