In a culture of blame-shifting we often look for someone to blame for our predicament. Being overweight is no different - who is to blame for obesity?
"It's the fast food outlets - supplying us with fatty foods"
"Our thin-obsessed society is putting all sorts of pressure on even slightly overweight folks"
"The weight loss industry is to blame - after all if everyone was slim - they would go out of business"
Some will simply blame the overweight person - making generalizations and attaching unhelpful labels to the person. "After all" they say, "it's up to us to manage what we eat and how much we exercise".
There is truth in this, but it is too simplistic. Many overweight people have tried desperately to eat 'properly' to manage their weight - yet continue to struggle for years. There are a number of outside forces here that have more of an influence than we realise.
So Who Is To Blame?
The weight loss industry is large, with millions being spent every year by people looking for answers. Like any industry, it has it's share of charlatans and snake-oil salesmen. Many manufacturers of diet pills and weight loss supplements are certainly opportunists - rather than looking to treat the source (i.e. by eating right), they are trying to treat the symptoms. However we have found that most decent commercial weight loss programs have a genuine interest in helping people manage their weight. So it's unfair to cast blame on the entire 'industry'.
If we were to start looking for culprits, we might want to cast our eye at the food processing industry - that, coupled with savvy marketing experts, has snared us into eating so many kinds of processed foods that going to the supermarket is like walking through a nutritional minefield.
Get Them While Their Young
The Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently conducted a study of the magazine "National Geographic for Kids". In 17 recent issues they found 51 ads for junk-foods - including a depiction of one meal that contained 590 calories (remember this is a magazine for children).
Many years ago a certain famous fast food outlet began calling its meals for children "Happy Meals" - creating an emotional response and attachment to certain foods - typically nutritionally poor foods.
Chemical Food and Clever Marketing
It's not the weight loss industry that's to blame - but the clever marketing tactics from the food processing giants that are misleading us. To make things worse - some popular weight loss diets have unfortunately associated themselves with snack food corporations, and severely reduced their credibility.
Is a low-carb / low-fat (take your pick) snack bar really that good for you? Take a look at the ingredients list - can you decipher all those numbers? Do you understand what a 'partially hydrogenated oil" is?
What about those great 'health' bars for the kids - they even have the healthy tick on them (indicating they are recommended by the American Heart Association). On closer inspection those 'healthy snacks' are nothing but lots of refined sugar, some white flour, trans fats, and a host of other chemicals. But hey - they're low in fat so they must be good? Right?
Finding the Right Food
It's a nightmare. What exactly is good for you? Who do you believe? Next time you see those bright colors, and eye-catching ads - do your own inspection of the ingredients list - you might be surprised.
Recently we bought some cranberry juice for our young daughter who had a slight urine infection - knowing that cranberry has some useful medicinal properties. Like any frazzled parent, having time to stand and stare at the nutrition panel while shopping with children is a rarity. That night our daughter had trouble getting to sleep, and woke up 3 or 4 times in the night. This is unusual for her.
On closer inspection of the so-called cranberry juice - we discovered that only 30% is actually cranberry, and the rest is water and 'high fructose corn syrup' - a chemically altered sugar with a fair share of (anecdotally) noted poor health affects.
What Is The Answer?
If obesity had a simple cause, don't you think we would have the answer by now? Good diet and exercise are the answer - but when we have large corporations spending millions to make us buy their food - it doesn't seem so simple anymore. Go figure - profit in the food industry is made by either people buying more food, or sourcing/manufacturing basic ingredients at less cost. How does good nutrition factor in this? Are you starting to get the picture?
There is no miracle weight loss cure - no diet plan that will fit everyone. The only long term answer is understanding how your own body reacts to the foods you eat. Weight loss is not a 6 week program, but a lifelong commitment to good nutrition and lifestyle.
About The Author
www.freedieting.com is a resource for everything concerning losing weight. Independent reviews of popular diets, free diet plans, and articles taking a serious look at the causes and solution of weight problems.
This article is available for reprint in your ezine or website. No changes should be made, and all links left in tact. (c) 2004 www.freedieting.com All Rights Reserved
professional maid services Deerfield ..Dietitians just plain don't like low-carb or high-protein diets.Whether it's... Read More
Have you ever stepped on the scale after a week... Read More
Surprisingly, hair loss is one of the reasons female pre-operative... Read More
You have been on diets before. You probably have lost... Read More
In order to lose weight, your body must burn more... Read More
The diary is an essential help in reaching your weight... Read More
It's the American Dream: "If I could just lose a... Read More
Remember that movie with Jim Carey, "Dumb and Dumber?" And... Read More
Nothing is more disappointing than hearing a gastric bypass patient... Read More
Fifteen Secrets of Safe and Easy Permanent Weight Loss Revealed!*... Read More
How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge... Read More
Yes Virginia, the fail-safe weight loss formula exists.It's so simple,... Read More
IntroductionObesity is the most common health problem facing children today.... Read More
Low carb diets, though popular, have met with much controversy.... Read More
(Ailsa's Apple Crumble Diet)I'm Scottish, so it's not a big... Read More
I thought I could avoid this when we moved to... Read More
It is estimated that about 32 million Americans are following... Read More
Low carb diets can be classified as food plans that... Read More
Recently, I read an article from Japanese magazine that by... Read More
There's one thing that most people forget about when it... Read More
ATTITUDESIT'S NOT ABOUT YOU!Exercising has so many physical benefits that... Read More
Here are seven tips for getting the calories out of... Read More
Have you seen the ditty below that's roaming the Internet... Read More
Once upon a time, I fretted about going to a... Read More
Now that the holiday season is here, holiday foods and... Read More
quick home cleaning Lake Forest ..A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
Spring is here and swimsuit weather is just around the... Read More
Gastric-bypass surgery is only the first step many morbidly obese... Read More
Hannah was distressed that, with all the inner work she... Read More
Everyone who has ever been on a diet has hit... Read More
Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate... Read More
Have you ever stopped to calculate how much time you... Read More
Here are the 4 things you need to know about... Read More
A distorted body image is one of the symptoms that... Read More
The scourge of obesity has reached such gigantic proportions across... Read More
If you're serious about losing weight and getting fit, you... Read More
Why have I allowed myself to get into this shape?... Read More
Losing weight is a struggle that many of us face... Read More
When we gain more weight than is good for us,... Read More
When you have started a diet in the past, how... Read More
Do you remember nodding your head with understanding during your... Read More
What's a Low Carb Diet Really Mean?When I hear low... Read More
These days, most everyone has heard of low carb diets... Read More
One thing I really must say at the outset of... Read More
When you hear a doctor or a personal trainer say,... Read More
There's no way you can separate the Jack LaLanne diet... Read More
How would you like Julia Roberts to coach you on... Read More
Getting Kids Moving - Help for Overweight TeensA residential school... Read More
If you have ever been snow skiing you know that... Read More
Any true body transformation starts with self?discovery. It is an... Read More
Weight Loss |