Let's learn from the lessons of weight loss history. You can achieve healthy weight loss without fad diets and fat-burn pills. After one hundred years of weight loss history, the truth remains the same. The best solutions for health and fitness is a combination of regular exercise, healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices.
Here are some facts related to the weight loss industry:
1930’s - Movie stars popularize the Hollywood 18-Day Diet. It consists of grapefruit, melba toast, green vegetables and boiled eggs.
1939 - Miracle diet pills, a.k.a. amphetamines, generate sales of $30 million annually before the FDA steps in. Bathing-suit ad slogan: "Suit by Jantzen. Body by Dexaspan."
1947 - Psychoanalyst Hilde Bruch says the glandular theory of obesity is not true. "The blubbery patient belongs not in the gym, but in the psychiatrist's office."
1951-52 - The New York Times claims obesity is our number one health problem. Reader's Digest admonishes wives to "Stop Killing Your Husband."
1959 - The New York Times now reports that Americans suffer "a dieting neurosis." Gallup Poll finds 72 percent of dieters are women. Metracal, the first liquid diet proclaims: "Not one of the top 50 U.S. corporations has a fat president." Girdle sales reach record highs.
1960 - Stillman Diet, requiring eight glasses of water and filet mignon every day, is introduced.
Overeaters Anonymous, inspired by AA is founded.
1963 - Coca-Cola introduces TAB. However, men won't drink from a pink can!
1966 - Atkins Diet published in Harper's Bazaar. Eggs, bacon and pork rinds allowed. Broccoli is restricted.
1967 - Twiggy, 5'7" and 91 lbs., appears on cover of Vogue four times.
1970 - Seventy percent of American families using low-cal products. Ten billion amphetamines manufactured annually.
1977 - Liquid protein diets banned after three deaths.
1979 – “The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet” becomes a best-seller. Success is
short-lived for creator, Dr. Herman Tarnower.
1982 - John Hopkins University researchers calculate that Americans have swallowed more than 29,068 "theories, treatments and outright schemes to lose weight." NFL endorses Diet Coke for men.
1990 - Oprah Winfrey loses 67 pounds on Optifast. One year later, Oprah gains back 67 pounds and declares, "No more diets!"
1992 - The National Institutes of Health champions moderation and daily exercise as the best diet. Extreme obesity is declared a disease.
1995 - Fen-Phen (fenfluramin and phentermine) introduced to the market place as the new magic pill solution for weight loss.
1997 - Mayo Clinic releases report claiming fen-phen causes heart valve deterioration and possible permanent brain cell damage. Manufacturer voluntarily withdraws fen-phen and Redux from the market.
2000 - American Home Products continues to defend against more than 2,000 class action suits brought against the company by parties claiming damaged from the company’s fen-phen-based products. Weider Nutrition settles with the FTC for “Unsubstantiated Claims for Dietary Supplements” for its Phen Cal products.
2002 - Body Solutions, a quick-fix diet pill company, files bankruptcy.
2003 - Ephedra-based products are banned in California and other states as research points to overuse and abuse causing serious injury and/or death. Obesity reaches highest levels in U.S. history.
2004 - Cortislim is charged by the FTC for “claiming, falsely and without substantiation, that their products can cause weight loss and reduce the risk of, or prevent, serious health conditions.
2005 - Atkins Nutritionals files Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
2009 - FDA recalls 72 weight loss products due to "risky" ingredients.
The FDA said, "these products have not been approved by the FDA, are illegal, and may be potentially harmful to unsuspecting consumers." The FDA went on to state that these products contained prescription strength amounts that exceeded the recommended dosage and could cause health risks. Reactions could range from high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations and increased risk of depression.
Isn’t it much simpler and less expensive to just exercise regularly, eat healthy and make healthy lifestyle choices? Your body would appreciate it!
Mark Dilworth, BA, PES, CPT is a Certified Personal Trainer and former NCAA Division I athlete. Mark’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System has been proven to give his clients the fit, sculpted and athletic-type bodies they want. Visit Mark’s sites:
My Fitness Hut http://myfitnesshut.blogspot.com
Her Fitness Hut http://herfitnesshut.com
Sports Fitness Hut http://sportsfitnesshut.blogspot.com