Contrary to what many believe, a diet is only a temporary way to lose weight and not some dramatic change of lifestyle that automatically gets someone positive results like it claims to do. A study by UCLA researchers has shown that dieting does not work. In fact, dieters may be worse off in the long run than non-dieters. This is due to the fact that most people who go on diets not only regain the weight they lost, they gain even more. In the short term, dieting seems like a good idea, as an individual “can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of... [his or her] weight on any number of diets...” However, “then the weight comes back.”, claims UCLA associate professor Traci Mann. Diets are simply not effective in the long term, as multiple studies have found. In one particular study that tracked participants for two years, it was found that 23% of participants who were tracked for less than two years had gained back more than they lost, while 83% participants that were followed for more than two years gained back more weight than they had lost. Another study found that “50 percent of dieters weighed more than 11 pounds over their starting weight five years after the diet…” In fact, diets can be more harmful in the long term than taking no action. The cycle of gaining weight then losing it has been linked to “cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and altered immune functions.” It is not known what causes this but its very detrimental to your health. While concluding, Mann stated, “diets are not effective in treating obesity.” It is the bleak truth, but not all hope is lost. Mann reiterated, “Eating in moderation is a good idea for everybody, and so is exercise. Exercise may well be the key factor leading to sustained weight loss... ... middle of paper ... ...weight loss as well. A gene called FTO has been associated with a higher risk of obesity “30 percent if they had one copy of the variant; 60 percent if they had two.”. FTO is very common, with 65% of Europeans and Africans possessing it and an estimated 27 to 44 percent of Asians carrying it. The mechanism in which FTO works is not entirely understood. It is believed that FTO affects eating habits. A 2008 study followed Scottish children and their eating habits. Tables of food were set out and the children were carefully monitored as to see how much and what foods they ate. Carriers of the FTO gene were more likely to eat foods with more fat and calories. They ate an additional 100 calories on average. This shows that obesity and weight gain may not be strictly environmental; genetics play a role as well. Weight loss is more difficult than it sounds.
Mary Ray Worley does an excellent job of using her personal experiences as “proof” of the points she makes. When she attacks the idea of dieting she states, “Many fat people have made numerous efforts and spent thousands of dollars throughout their lives to lose weight and each time regained the lost pounds plus a few more” (Worley 165). She makes this point and backs it up in paragraph 11 with her personal experience with dieting and how she gave up on it. She states, “After years and years of dieting it slowly dawned on me that my body rebelled when I tried to restrict my food intake. All those years I figured that it was me who was failing, and then I began to realize that it was the method that was failing” (Worley 165). To certain audiences this article is effective due to this kind of approach. It is especially effective to people who can relate to Worley. Those who can relate to her personal life are more likely to believe what they
Geissler continually argues that one should make their own choices and others should worry about themselves (Geissler). She also makes the point that dieting is without positive results, supported by her quote from Allison which states, “suffering does not enable; it destroys” (Geissler). While in extreme cases dieting can be dangerous due to the risk of starvation that extremists may put themselves at, healthy eating of smaller portion sizes a proven way to care for our bodies. Although dieting is not guaranteed to give remarkable results, it is the stepping stone for many to climb out of obesity. The viewpoint used by the author in her argument tends to constantly turn a blind eye to normal circumstances, and it instead looks for the negatives that support her.
America’s obesity epidemic is a hot topic these days. Many people, experts or not, offer an opinion on the best solution to our nation’s weight gain, two of them being Michael Pollan and Michael Moss. Pollan and Moss present different opinions on the subject and offer solutions to the issue. Although Pollan’s article has good points, Moss’s article does a much better job of discussing obesity and providing a viable solution.
American health, specifically our obesity epidemic, has grown into a trending media topic. A quick Google search will bring up thousands of results containing a multitude of opinions and suggested solutions to our nation’s weight gain, authored by anyone ranging from expert food scientists to common, concerned citizens. Amongst the sea of public opinion on obesity, you can find two articles: Escape from the Western Diet by Michael Pollan and The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food by Michael Moss. Each article presents a different view on where the blame lies in this public health crisis and what we should do to amend the issue. Pollan’s attempt to provide an explanation pales in comparison to Moss’s reasonable discussion and viable
But not all fad diets are necessarily bad; some fad diets help with portions but are not supposed to be used for long periods of time. Weight Watchers for example, is supposed to help its users lose 10% of their body weight and then after
One of the main differences between healthy diet and exercise and fad dieting is they can yield very different long term results. When fad dieting, you may be able to drop quite a bit of weight in a short period of time, but rest assured you will most likely see those pounds again. Fad diets focus on losing weight too quickly. The initial weight you lose is water weight, but as soon as you go back to regular food the pounds lost will return. Fad dieting can also wreak havoc on your muscles, and cause your body to go into starvation mode. Fad dieting works off of the idea that since your body needs fat to produce energy, it will burn the access fat that is stored to get that energy. The problem with this theory is that when you deprive your body of the necessary nutrients it needs, it then stores all the fat it can and starts burning energy from your muscles. The loss of your muscles slows down your metabolism, thus making it more difficult to lose weight in the long run. Healthy dieting promotes a lifestyle change, allowing for results...
These few sentences are the most effective in contradicting everything that the author has said previously in the article. The text states, “These study’s findings will not persuade everyone where low-fat diets are concerned. Some people may continue on these diets because they have lost weight or feel their health has improved.” Although right after these sentences the author continues to discuss why low-fat diets are bad, these sentences show us that the author understands other people’s point of
"Treating Obesity Vital For Public Health, Physicians Say." Science Daily. 2006. Web. 10 May 2014. .
Nutrition is essential to human’s life, but still people need to take care the quantity and quality necessitated. Most research studies agreed the way e...
When it comes to the topic of eating healthy, most of us will readily agree that we all need to. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of how and why. Whereas some are convinced that we don’t need to all be eating healthy foods that are over priced to stay healthy, and others maintain that there is no other way. Bill Gifford talks about a proper diet throughout the book, but one chapter in particular really stands out when it comes to how diet affects our bodies and ultimately our heath. In the chapter Phil Vs. Fat, Gifford tells a story about a man who beats all odds when it comes to changing his life. Our new friend Phil was morbidly obese and had become highly diabetic. Through exercise and eating a more refined diet, he was able to completely reverse his body and his health. Gifford continues to emphasis on Phil’s great feat when he writes, “The doctor was astonished: Bruno’s insulin resistance was gone, his blood values
Fact: 95-98% of people who go on a diet gain back all the weight they lose plus more, according to a National Institute of Health study. If you talk to someone you know who is a long-term dieter, chances are they will tell you that they weigh more now than before they started dieting.
Growing up, I struggled with being overweight, even though I was active. As a young boy growing up on a farm somewhere in Northwest Missouri, I worked very hard doing chores the normal urbanized American would not do. My father would have me do chores every day, yet I was still overweight. Reflecting back to what what could have made me that way; many ideas began to appear in my head, so my research on nutrition began. There were many things that were argued to cause childhood obesity, however the most logical and sensible outcome that came from my research was that environmental, political, cultural, and other such factors were not to blame for my obese childhood, but nutrition was. This statement correlated with my very active childhood. My Father assigned me to do many difficult and strenuous tasks so you could say I worked up an appetite. However, this factor combined with my Mother’s inability to cook a small meal, you can imagine the amount of food I consumed on a daily basis. Not to mention the sheer fact of how much I consumed because the food tasted amazing. Mom would always say: “You have bigger eyes then your stomach”, meaning I would get more then what I needed or what I was able to eat without being uncomfortable. I would get helpings upon helpings of food, and since we did not have the money for the food to be wasted, I was forced to finish my plate. I would get in trouble if I wasted food, which is a big thing for our family.
While the numbers show huge differences total wise, one must consider the difference in total population numbers among the different races. The prevalence rates do have a huge difference in reality, especially between whites and Latinos both having 1.1 percent. African Americans and people classified as other have prevalence rates of 1.4 percent and 1 percent respectively. (Bureau of,
One of the main effects of fad diets is the inability to meet the body’s nutritional requirements. In most cases, fad diets are unable to meet your body’s dietary needs as they typically designed to enable you to lose weight. This is because the diet plan is restrictive that reduces the intake of foods with essential nutrients or that requires you to eat the same foods day after day.
Obesity is a serious condition that has generated a discussion on whether or not to be classified as a disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is the body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, which is calculated based on the person’s height and weight. For years, our society has been facing the obesity challenge, which can be extremely costly once it leads to several diseases. Thus, because of the constant increase of percentage of people with obesity, the American Medical Association (AMA) proposed in June 18, 2013 to classify obesity as a disease. Their argument was that obesity increases the risks of countless health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension etc. Moreover, it increases morbidity and mortality. By considering obesity as a disease, their aim was to maximize researches and funding, which will focus on obesity from different medical and health approach levels. Their idea of classifying obesity as a disease was in accordance with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s declaration of 1995. The institute declared, “ Obesity is a complex multifactorial chronic disease developing from multiple interactive influences of numerous factors.” In 2012, the CDC data showed 34.9% of adults obese and 17% of obese children. These numbers are very alarming especially since the struggle to deter certain factors contributing into this condition is still a challenge. Among the struggles, there are the people’s rights versus health regulations to keep them as healthy as possible like the former mayor Bloomberg regulation on soft drinks size cut. During CNN’s show GPS of Sunday 2, 2014, the host Zacharia...