The Diet Industry Vs Obesity
I liked this post Obesity: Fact and Fiction on the blog The- F-word.org.
“Martin poses a provocative question: with its proven high failure rates – a 97 percent recidivism rate, according to Susie Orbach – and overall ineffectiveness (as well as the health risks yo-yo dieting poses), can the diet industry be prosecuted into warning labels and public education efforts the way the tobacco industry has been?”
That’s an interesting question. The diet industry has many takers. You can’t blame manufacturers for coming up with more and more diet products, considering how obese the population is becoming. And yo-yo dieting could lead to eating disorders which could lead to body image perception problems then causing mental health and social ostracism issues. Everything is so viciously connected.
Banning a diet product or putting a warning on the product doesn’t really change the consumer’s mind. No amount of warning on cigarrette packets has stopped smokers. Instead of experimenting with his/her diet, what awareness groups could do is educate the public about what diet products and methods really entail. How do you know what is fake? How do you know where to draw the line when it comes to a certain method you read about?
Consulting a good doctor for a serious weight issue is the best idea. Rely on the experts if you have a serious problem. Don’t waste your time on trial and error unless you have the time and you are not in serious trouble. Know about the consequences of any dieting method or product you use. The most important thing is to have a mind of your own and ask the right questions. It’s your body and you’ve got to treat it right.
diet, diet industry, weight loss, eating disorders, mental health, body image perception problems, fat, smoking, addiction, obesity
October 27th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
[...] I’m insulting this man a little too much, because he does have a point. We live in a world where obesity equals starvation. (Scientific American, baby. Read it.) The world is getting so small, and yet [...]