Media: Bad Influence for Those Who Want to Lose Weight

"Thin is in." Nowadays, beauty has reached a new standard. Stick thin figures abound in television, on the covers of magazines, and over the Internet. Younger individuals are experiencing the pressure to get thin to be considered beautiful and become socially accepted. There is an increasing prevalence of eating disorders in the youth. This dangerous behavior can result in depression, arrythmias, kidney failure, and sudden death.

Amidst all these, the media is feeding off the desire of people to lose weight. The weight loss industry is marketing numerous products promising instant and inexpensive solutions to weight problems, including weight loss books and videos. Here are a few examples.

Fad Diets
In order to respond to the need for weight loss, numerous fad diets have been developed and are being advertised in the market, such as the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet. Fad diets have been known to ignore what have already been proven scientifically.

Typically, fad diets either eliminate a certain food group, such as carbohydrates, or increase the amount of a specific food in an individual's diet. Fad diets also usually promise to prevent and cure certain or all diseases. Fad diets can usually result in rapid weight loss initially, but are unable to maintain the weight off. When undergoing a fasting diet, the body's metabolism slows down.

Once you have returned to your normal eating habits, your metabolism is unable to cope up with your food intake. This can thus result in weight gain instead of weight loss. There has also been evidence that instead of promoting health, these fad diets can result in life-threatening health complications.