Americans idealization of slender young bodies plays a major role
in this seemingly addictive behavior of dieting. The media relentlessly portrays
the ideal woman at five feet seven inches and 105 pounds. So we diet and
binge our way to our ideal weight. Sometimes it seems all in vein. From the
grapefruit diet, to the "six meals a day nibbler diet", thousands of diets promise
to help you lose weight and hundreds of doctors stand behind them. So whom
do you believe? Each diet is different and every doctor has his or her own
opinion. Even when you thought those drugs that were working so well for
so many people were safe, they were pulled off of the market. So what do you
do? After exploring several different diets on the market, two things are clear.
Nutrition and exercise are two important factors when it comes to weight loss,
and dieting can be harmful to your health.
People have been dieting for years and want to believe the lies that
come with dieting. "Losing weight is a good, appropriate, moral thing to do.
Losing weight is simple. It is easy. Anyone can do it. If you do not lose weight
quickly, easily, and keep it off forever, you are either bad or dumb" (Weight
Loss Through Persistence, pg. 8). It is consistently shown in advertising,
the superstars, models, and just everyday people. They can do it, so can you?
This multibillion-dollar industry wants you to believe it. They put out books,
put new drugs out all with the golden promise of helping you lose weight.
This industry is booming as more and more are looking for that slender body.
It will be worth fifty billion dollars a year by the year 2000. It seems to be
"ideal" to be thin. Another argument for the boom is the physical health of
the obese. "Excess weight does increase health risks" (8). Is this the real
reason people are dieting though? S...