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Natural Life Magazine, March/April 2002 In the US alone, the weight loss industry is worth an estimated $50 billion – that’s 50 times the amount of money the United Nations spends on hunger and famine relief around the world and more than the gross national product of many countries. Sales of retail and multi-level meal replacements and appetite suppressants alone are around $2 billion a year. One survey found 62 percent of adults are dieting and 18 percent are constantly on a diet. And in spite of all this effort, and these weight loss products, health club memberships, diet pills and potions, tummy tucks and stomach staplings, books and tapes, the number of people declared to be obese is increasing. The National Institutes of Health and other studies show that 98 percent of people who lose weight gain it back within five years. And 90 percent of those gain back more weight than they lost. The failure of weight loss programs is so great that a leading researcher has said, “Dieting is the leading cause of obesity in the US.” It could also be dangerous to your health, as an increasing number of health dangers are being associated with use of diet drugs (the now withdrawn combination of phentermine and fenfluramine “phenfen” – and the even more controversial use of phentermine and prozac being two examples). Yet hungry for the profits resulting from a prosperous but aging population . . . To read the rest of this article, and all our current and back issues, subscribe to our digital edition. Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with 30 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Read her blog. |
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