Question 3
The results of this study found that women who use diet
pills to control their weight gained and average of 3.2kg over the 3-year period
(compared to a 0.8kg weight gain of non-diet pill users). The article suggests
this finding may be due to chronic dieters who are “desperate” to manage weight
gain. What do you believe is the leading cause of chronic dieters and weight
gain in our society that may lead to such measures of using diet pills,
smoking, or laxatives?
posted by Unknown @ 4:58 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
What a great question! I don’t think there is just one cause for chronic dieters and weight gain in our society. However, there are two big factors that I believe lead to such measures including media and lack of education. Media is a huge factor and is what first came to mind when reading this question. Media and technology have become a great part of the culture that we live in. What children/women/men see on the media can have an impact on their lives. Although some people know that many people on TV are “edited” and touched up to be “picture perfect”, it is still drilled into our minds. This topic actually came up a few weeks back when I was babysitting a girl who was 9 years old. She is into boys and makeup and all that jazz. I was feeding her and her siblings lunch when I noticed she hadn’t eaten very much. I asked her if she felt ok, she said yes. I asked why she wasn’t eating and she said because she needed to loose weight. The young girl was already stick and bone. She continued to tell me how she wasn’t pretty enough and wanted to be like the girls on TV. It broke my heart hearing a 9 year old express these feelings. After lunch I let the other kids go play and sat her down to talk to her about how pretty she was and try to boost her self esteem. I pulled up a couple of videos on YouTube to show her how editing can completely change what a person looks like. I’m sure many of you can share similar stories about how the media has effective someone you know as well. The point is media can influence many minds including adults and can cause people to gravitate towards these “desperate” measures. Which I why I think education is key. Educating children and adults on healthy food choices and encouraging variety in their diets. Not necessarily focusing on what they can’t have but focusing on what they can have and individualizing their diets to help them live healthier lives.
I think that weight gain occurs in our society as a result of the ubiquitous presence of convenient, relatively cheap food options. Eating out and processed convenience foods fit easily into the lifestyle that is valued in our society, which is overly busy and constantly on-the-go. In general, people overbook themselves and their families leading to a desire for convenient food options, which are unhealthy foods a good portion of the time. Dependence on these types of convenience foods on a day to day basis likely contributes to gradual weight gain over time. Weight gain does not happen overnight. The gradual weight gain people experience overtime may “catch up” to them at some point, leaving them questioning “how did I get this way?” When people recognize their weight gain and desire a change, they may tend towards a “quick fix” to drop the weight. This quick-fix mindset goes along with the quick-fix mindset of eating that may have contributed to weight gain initially in the form of overconsumption of processed, unhealthy convenience foods. At this point, I believe people may turn to unsafe weight loss strategies in search of an instant remedy of the weight gain experienced over years. Overall, I believe that the instant gratification mindset present in our society and emphasis on short-term rewards is a primary contribution to weight gain and participation in unsafe weight loss methods.
What comes to mind is all the different fad diets, which often do not have much or any scientific backing to them. Often times people try so many diets, thinking the next one will work and then they try to get off the diet and the weight goes back on. Their weight yo-yos and aside from the physical change, their emotions are on a roller coaster as well. Diet pills and laxatives seem like an easy way out of the yo-yo dieting, because of the frustration from negative results. I can’t say this is the cause of people resorting to diet pills/smoking/laxative use, but it may result from unsuccessful attempts to lose weight in other ways. Education of the dietary recommendations and nutrient dense foods and how consuming a diet based off recommendations can improve long-term health.
This is a very complex issue with many different factors that influence the availability and use of various “weight management” tools. Some individuals who use products such as diet pills and laxatives for weight loss may feel “desperate” and turn to the pills because they are looking for a quick, easy, and effective strategy to lose the weight. I believe that often, these options are seen as a way to lose weight without having to do all the hard work associated with losing weight. It’s much easier to just take a pill before every meal and lose weight than having to modify your eating and physical activity habits to lose the weight. Also, using these measures can increase the amount of weight lost over a short period of time and can reinforce these unhealthy behaviors, i.e. diet and exercise 1 -2 pound weight loss per week vs pill 5 - 10 pound weight loss.
I think that unhealthy weight control behaviors are largely a result of the emphasis our society places on aesthetics. We value looks more than we do health and therefore people turn to unsafe practices such as yo-yo dieting, diet pills, and smoking among others to loose weight. Like Moriah said, the media plays a massive role in this message that begins to make even children feel unworthy. I think it is our responsibility as health professionals to discredit these dangerous weight loss measure and help people refocus their goals towards being healthy. Once people adopt health as end-goal instead of solely weight loss, it can be easier to talk about diet and lifestyle change.
Diet pills, laxatives, and simple short term fixes fail to address the causes of weight gain for these surveyed individuals. Any weight loss attributed to the supplements would have been temporary as emphasized by the published study. If the underlying causes of the problem aren't manipulated the pattern will reinstate and possibly accelerate with time. Further, the article point as to desperate participants utilizing these weight loss strategies holds value. Individuals with great levels of stress have difficulty embracing the levels of change necessary for health related lifestyle modifications.
Individuals in this scenario will likely require additional support to implement changes, whether social, environmental, fiscal, or educational. Kandice's point as to the fast results (5-10 lb/ week) of weight loss aids will further undermine the efforts of these individuals who will question why they cannot retain weight loss, introducing doubt in their ability to make health related lifestyle modifications long term.
The reason I believe chronic dieters may turn to unsafe practices, such as laxatives and diet pills is to find a simple solution to a difficult problem. The media portrays these weight-loss gimmicks as a "one-pill cures all!" Such products have extremely persuasive commercials and advertisements that play to this very population unjustly. In sum, I believe chronic dieters turn to pills because of the false hope they are receiving from the corporations.
With all of the advanced technology and ease of access to commodities, I feel that our culture is one of instant gratification. People seem to be focused on a "quick fix" or "miracle pill" that will show them remarkable results in a very short (and often unsafe) time period. With the rise in social media, there are many internet sensations/celebrities that act as idols or "body goals," which can either empower others to make a change or crush individuals' self-confidence levels. Using diet pills or diuretics can simulate quick results, but at a negative consequence for the body. Using these unsafe methods makes weight loss hard to maintain, which can further push people to take desperate measures, creating a vicious circle.
I agree with Noel that these weight loss scams are very persuasive, and individuals with perceived authority (such as individuals like Dr. Oz) can perpetuate these unsafe practices. The FDA only regulates dietary supplements retroactively, so it has become increasingly difficult to determine the actual ingredients and their efficacy. With the demand for "quick fix" weight loss solutions, it can be challenging to emphasize the importance of lifestyle change and gradual weight loss.
Moriah, I though you brought up a great point about the medias role in body image. Media’s idealizing a body image that has been airbrushed and photo shopped to “perfection” and even though most individuals know that these images have been altered, we still tend to try and emulate the results, often leads individuals to take drastic measures to imitate the results.
Kristen and Holly, I also though you brought up a great point how about instant gratification. Healthy weight loss that is maintainable is a long and slow process. But, many individuals do not have the desire or commitment to stick with a healthy weight loss program and instead turn to “quick fixes” or “miracle pills” to solve their weight issues. Despite the safety concern behind these quick fix weight loss methods, they continue to be touted in the media, making some people feel that they need to do anything and everything to meet society’s ideal body image.
I agree with you Holly, Kirsten, Noel and Kandice, to many individuals diet pills are a quick fix and sound like an easy fix. Both the advertisements on the TV and on the box give people a false hope, as Noel said. Again brining in the media and showing how it can strongly influence buyers minds. Although some of these methods may work quickly they are not for maintaining healthy weight and are not a safe dieting tool.
The results of this study found that women who use diet pills to control their weight gained and average of 3.2kg over the 3-year period (compared to a 0.8kg weight gain of non-diet pill users). The article suggests this finding may be due to chronic dieters who are “desperate” to manage weight gain. What do you believe is the leading cause of chronic dieters and weight gain in our society that may lead to such measures of using diet pills, smoking, or laxatives?
Losing weight can be very difficult for people. I have heard dieting described as psychologically exhausting and emotionally draining. I think that overcompensation is one factor contributing to these results. A person using diet pills may not make any changes to their diet because they believe that the diet pill alone will do the trick. Furthermore, people may actually eat more (consciously or unconsciously) thinking that the diet pill will prevent weight gain. Unfortunately, losing weight is difficult and I'm sure that chronic dieters can attest to that.
My belief is that many of the people that fall victim to chronic dieting are those that have the "all or nothing" type of personality. For instance, this person may start a diet and follow it 100% until they have a day where they "cheated" or ate more in amount/ type of food that their diet calls for. All of a sudden, this individuals perception is that they failed at eating for the day, for the week, or forever. This is when people say to themselves, "Well, I already messed up my eating for the day so I'll just start over tomorrow." This type of thinking can lead to binging, as people use it as justification to eat whatever they want at whatever amount because tomorrow they will not be able to do so anymore. This is just one example of many scenarios that chronic dieters might experience. As dietitians counseling these individuals, it will be our job to help them uncover the reasons for their dieting struggles and to help them become more self-aware of the reasons behind their behaviors. Also, as a side note, I believe that if the word "dieting" was off limits in nutrition counseling sessions and replaced by the words "lifestyle changes", better outcomes would occur for the clients. This could be an interesting study!
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