Americans spend over 40 billion dollars a year on potions, products and programs designed for a singular purpose – to loose weight. Ironically enough, the more Americans spend on loosing weight, the more weight they gain! Frontline has looked into this phenomena in it’s documentary Diet Wars.
Summary
I believe this is worth watching but if you don’t have time, here is a summary of the key points outlined in the documentary:
- January is when most Americans think of shedding the weight
- many obese people realize the damage they are doing to their health but simply cannot change their habits
- heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and cancer risk factors are all influenced by carrying excess weight
- 2/3rds of Americans are overweight with most living in a state of denial
- Pritikin diet consists of fruits, fish, vegetables, soy milk, beans, it’s basically an ultra-low calorie reduced diet
- Atkins consists of eating all the fat you can while limiting the starches, fruits and cereals
- Atkins contradicts everything the government and scientific community has told the public
- Atkins works by reducing caloric intake, just like all diets that are effective
- the anti-fat (low fat diet) dogma is difficult overcome
- in the 90s, the food industry began removing fat from our foods (to reduce caloric intake and reduce weight of consumers)
- all commercial foods are made up of protein, water, carbohydrates and fats but removing the fat from a product requires the addition of one of the other three (usually carbohydrates) which gives them the same calories as regular “non-low-fat” products
- 3 000 calories of carbohydrates = 3 000 calories of fat
- low fat era of the 90s caused Americans to before fatter then ever with a third being obese by the early 2000s
- eating too much refined sugars (rice, white bread, pasta) cause sugar rushes which then causes the pancreas to over-compensate with insulin which in turn stimulates hunger
- Atkins works by satisfying your hunger due to the high protein and fat content (it’s burned slowly by the body verses carbohydrates which are burned quickly)
- saturated fat and cholesterol help clog up the bodies arteries
- Harvard recorded the lifetime diets of health professionals and after 20 years of research they found out that saturated are animal fats are linked to heart disease and cancer but unsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils help protect people from these conditions
- unrefined carbohydrates are filling and nutritious while refined carbohydrates have the opposite on the effects on the body
- nuts are very high in fat and protein but also very nutritious
- South Beach Diet outsells Atkins now in the United States
- 80-90% of people who loose weight from specialized diets gain it back within a year due to cravings and returning to old habits
- Weight Watchers keeps the weight off longer then other plans due to the community support lacking from many other diet programs, it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change
- Weight Watchers uses a buddy system, teamwork, to maintain weight loss
- 65% of Americans are overweight or obese
- Americans live in a dream world compared to our ancestors where food is plentiful and cheap without requiring physical activity to acquire it
- childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing due to improper diet and lack of activity (some 12 year olds already have type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol)
- one child in two within the United States is at risk of developing diabetes over their lifetime
- most school cafeterias are full of junk food which works against their abilities to get a proper education
- children don’t play outside as before, families don’t eat together and the television has become a baby sitters (societal values have changed)
- sedentary lifestyle reduces calorie requirements by the body so even a normal diet can cause obesity
- America On The Move promotes healthy weights by using pedometers, creating fun, goal orientated activities to loose weight
- schools that cut out physical education to save funds are now returning towards physical activity as part of the school curriculum
- food is an important part of American culture, which is why limiting food consumption is a difficult task for most Americans
- all diets are gimics, long term changes are required after the initial weight loss and self-control isn’t a sexy marketing catch-phrase
My Dieting Views
The entire diet industry is made up of a lie, that of money. To be more specific, that you need to spend money to get the body you want… things couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of giving your power to a third party, save your money and time, invest in yourself instead!
The Bottom Line
Permanent weight loss is easy if you are willing to change your lifestyle.
Buzzvia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/view/
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