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Byline: Adam Piore With Sarah Sennott in London, Barbie Nadeau in Rome, Kay Itoi in Tokyo, Andrew Ehrenkranz in Paris, Sarah Schafer in Beijing, Ginanne Brownell

HEALTH

SUMMER SLIM

BY ADAM PIORE

In the dead of winter, who can be blamed for settling into the couch with a six-pack of beer and a plate of those brownies from the holiday party? Now, though, it's time to confront our bloated waistlines, contemplate the skimpy bathing suits we'll wear this summer and... panic. Never fear, though. Each year gives rise to new diet products and fads--some effective, others simply strange. tip sheet surveys the latest trends around the world:

Exercise London boasts some of the most bizarre ways to get fit. At the hip fitness club Gymbox (gymbox.co.uk ), the "Shag Workout" is gaining converts. The class offers 30-minutes of pelvic squeezing, thrusting and rotating, pulling moves from yoga and erotic dancing. LA Fitness (lafitness. co.uk ) is planning a "sexercise" class with hip-lifts, and inner-thigh-strengthening exercises. In February, health-club chain Holmes Place launched a "speed-dating yoga," where young singleites swap partners for each stretch (holmesplace.com ). Romance buds sitting across from each other, eyes locked, legs spread, and feet touching, while pulling each other's arms.

Diet products In Asia as well as Europe, a number of new products claim to facilitate weight loss without the hassle of actual effort. Contrex water, owned by Nestle, has moved into third place in the French bottled-water market, largely by claiming its high calcium and magnesium content spurs weight loss. Health experts are skeptical. A better solution may be Japanese "petit fasting." Replace one or two meals a day with enzyme-rich vegetable juice or ginger tea. A growing number of online stores (great-antonio.jp/fasting_diet fasting.jp ) are offering products to help give you the nutrients of a meal without the calories, such as nutritionally balanced vegetable juices.