Modern Day Puppeteers
The influence of fad diets on society
Like puppeteers pulling the strings of dolls, creators of various weight loss mechanisms have a mesmerizing power. Our society is so highly fixated on the topic of weight that in 2004 alone “40 percent of Americans claim they’re either ‘very careful’ or ‘somewhat careful’ in selecting foods” (jada.ada.org). The actual process of healthful weight loss should be that of diet and exercise, the good old hard work and determination that take time and willpower to accomplish. Though some of these “fad” diets and methods being circulated can promote unhealthy practices in order to shed the extra pounds. The topic of dieting and weight loss falls under the scope of nutrition- the workings of foods and nutrients on the human body- but some of the diets seem to do more harm than good and accomplish the opposite of this definition. The writing and portrayal of this field based on aiding people in a healthful manner is compromised by these “quack” diets.
The new diet pill Alli, which touts being the only “FDA approved weight loss pill”, is supposed to help you “lose about 50% more weight than with just dieting alone”; though the site also states that “weight loss depends on how closely you follow a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet, get regular physical activity, and take Alli capsules” (www.myalli.com). If dieting and exercise alone can achieve weight loss why is this pill even necessary? Alli helps to promote weight loss by blocking the absorption of some dietary fat and excreting it out of the body as waste. What some consumers may not know is that not ALL fat is bad, that some is vital to the body, and that by excreting good fat the body may experience ill effects such as neurological problems. Similarly, a program known as the cabbage soup diet utilizes a magic soup made of vegetables and water; “it relies on eating strange and bizarre combinations of food that nearly force you to starve each day. Dieters are allowed all the water and cabbage soup they want, plus a very restricted set of other foods” (www.aboutcabbagesoupdiet.com). This would not be a healthy practice for the individual to undergo; depriving the body of nutrients may at first create massive weight loss, but this cannot be carried out for a sustained amount of time or else the body would begin to weaken.
Diet plans are supposed to promote healthy lifestyle changes through nutritious means; ones that do not accomplish this goal by instead emphasizing quick and easy solutions are going against the underlying basis of dieting, which is nutrition. I know that I am no expert when it comes to this science, yet I have learned through nutrition lectures that the only option for maintaining weight loss is promotion of healthful lifestyle changes that people can ultimately carry out in their every day lives. The diets that tempt people through their outlandish claims are going against what is actually beneficial for the person’s body. Our weight-obsessed society is caught up in the strings that the puppeteers are pulling; these strings need to be cut and the idea of hard work and determination needs to be emphasized more than “quick and easy” solutions.
Works Cited
17 Nov. 2007
15 Nov. 2007
16 Nov. 2007
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