Pros And Cons Of Fad Diets

Did you know that every year 30,000 people die from obesity? This is a startling number for a disease that is so simple to avoid. As citizens of the United States we have many rights that have been given to us through the Constitution and Declaration of Independence such as the freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and petition. Furthermore, we have advantages in our country that contribute to our freedom such as food stamps, health care, welfare, and retirement plans. But are we taking advantage of these freedoms and opportunities and putting our health and well-being at risk? According to a report released by Trust for America’s Health, ”Obesity rates among adults now exceed 25 percent in more than two-thirds of the states”, which
The second common way offered to fix the obesity epidemic is with drugs such as diet pills. The third way offered to fix the obesity epidemic is with surgeries such as liposuction and gastric bypass. The diets plans do not include how to change behavior and therefore one’s lifestyle, therefore they fail. In order for an individual to achieve permanent weight loss they must change their frame of mind; these fad diets do not do this. In the book Fat by Robert Pool you hear about diet pills all the time being stated as, “Don 't put those chemicals into your body, and instead use this all natural substance” (p. 183). The whole thing is not based on any truth and is potentially very
Recent calculations put a dollar estimate on the obesity epidemic at $140 billion a year in extra medical costs. In the book Obesity by Kathleen Y. Wolin and Jennifer M. Petrelli it is stated that “Obese people spend on average $1,500 a year more for medical care on average than a person of healthy weight” (p. 95). A broad understanding of the economics of obesity will allow market forces to act. For example, employers paying the increased medical costs associated with obesity may choose to implement work-based prevention programs or redesign workspaces to incorporate healthy food choices and increased opportunity for physical activity into the