Liposuction Versus Diet And Exercise

It is no secret that we live today in a world where the majority of the people in developed countries are unhappy with their physical appearance. A survey done in the third quarter of 2010 found that adult Americans are more likely to be overweight than at a normal weight with 62.6% being either overweight or obese.[1] We also live in a microwave-minded society. Almost every aspect of modern life is dominated by a caffeinated desire for instant gratification and our technology has become a way for us to make everything faster. Often, many would argue at the expense of quality and in some cases, sanity. It is thus no surprise that in a world where most get restless if a website takes more than two seconds to load [2] -it’s not speculation, but the result of an actual study- it should be no surprise that liposuction rather than diet and exercise is becoming more and more of an acceptable way to lose the extra pounds. But is it really a practical alternative to diet and exercise?

Liposuction, (the correct term is actually lipoplasty) for the past twelve years has been the number one cosmetic surgical procedure in the United States before it was nudged out by breast augmentation in 2009 [3]. Nonetheless, in 2009 Americans spent well over five hundred million dollars on liposuction surgery. Most of those undergoing liposuction were female, with women making up almost 90% of total liposuction surgeries. While the number of men going under the knife has increased by 18% from 2008 to 2009, liposuction remains a procedure done mostly by women[3]. While it is very much an invasive surgical procedure, people talk of liposuction with the casualness one might use in referring to having your teeth cleaned- yet in spite of the its popularity, liposuction is still a potentially dangerous operation. In contrast, diet and exercise offers a much safer, more fulfilling and healthier approach to weight loss in general.

Liposuction Versus Diet & Exercise- Liposuction Does Not Offer A Faster And Safer Option

The most appealing aspect of liposuction is the speed in which the procedure can vacuum the fat deposits off your problem areas- while diet and exercise require not only a longer time frame, but also call for more work being done on your part. That being said, for someone that doesn’t wish to invest months (and very often years) of sweat and attention to what they eat- liposuction sounds like it trumps diet and exercise in every possible way. Walk into the clinic with fat hanging off your lower abs and walk out several hours later with all the excess fat left sitting in the surgeon’s office. The reality isn’t necessarily that simple. First of all it can take liposuction can be very painful after surgery, with some considerable swelling that takes one to two months to subside. Depending on the amount of fat removed and the location you may have to wear a compression garment for a few weeks and you will not be able to resume regular activity immediately after surgery. Most people that I know have a four to six week waiting period before they can resume any form of exercise and this all presupposes that all goes well.

Real world liposuction isn’t instant and is not without possible complications such as scarring, numbness and in very some cases death. While the mortality rate for liposuction isn’t high-the numbers seem to be a bit in dispute. The FDA cites “studies indicate that the risk of death due to liposuction is as low as 3 deaths for every 100,000 liposuction operations performed. However, other studies indicate that the risk of death is between 20 and 100 deaths per 100,000 liposuction procedures.” [4] Putting the figures in perspective the FDA citation quotes a study that puts those figures in perspective- noting that deaths from liposuction are higher than the mortality rate from car accidents which is 16 deaths per 100,000 accidents. The FDA also warns those considering it that “liposuction is a surgical procedure and that there may be serious complications, including death.” [4]

Liposuction Versus Diet & Exercise: Exercise Reduces Mortality Rates- Liposuction Does Not

While opting for liposuction can increase the likelihood of premature demise, hundreds of studies have shown that exercise DECREASES the risk of premature death. In one of the largest studies ever conducted to identify the link between exercise and mortality a study done by U.S. Veterans Affairs found that increased exercise capacity from something as simple as brisk walking reduced the risk of death in African-American and Caucasian men by 50 to as high as 70% depending on their fitness levels.[5] On the other hand, while liposuction may create a cosmetic illusion of health by removing visible fat stores, it offers no health benefits whatsoever. According to Dr. Amit Khera  head of  the preventative cardiology program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center reducing fat by liposuction does not reduce the levels of C-reactive protein, which is used to measure inflammation and risk of heart disease. Since liposuction is only able to remove subcutaneous fat directly under the skin, it has no effect on visceral abdominal fat that clings to the internal organs and is directly linked to risks for cardiovascular disease.

Liposuction Versus Diet And Exercise- Liposuction Is Not A Permanent Fix

I have seen this myself over the years on numerous occasions. A young healthy individual with some pockets of fat, decides to undergo liposuction to get rid of the unwanted bulges. After a successful operation all seems to be well- but fast forward five to as little as two years and they are back again for more procedures. Why? Because there was no concurrent change in diet and lifestyle. Basically if you don’t eat well and exercise regularly, whatever fat that is removed from liposuction will come back over time as you are addressing only the symptoms and not the cause of your unwanted fat deposits. Repeat surgeries are fairly common and there is some concern among those in the psychology fields that liposuction does not improve obsessive preoccupation with one’s appearance and may indeed exacerbate such negative attitudes.

Contrasted with exercise which when done as part of a lifestyle change rather activity which tends to decrease feeling of depression [6,7,8,9] and is a long term pursuit that continues to reap benefits  as the years go by. The more you continue to exercise and eat well the better that you will look, the better your health will be and the better you will feel all without the risks of invasive surgery. There is also something to be said for the journey. Every pound lost comes with a new revelations, and an invaluable education in the most important of subjects- you. The process- slow though it may be is one that makes you inherently a better person. The lessons of self control, consistency and determination that you have to learn on the way to a slimmer, trimmer body stay with you forever and carry over to every other aspect of regular life. You can’t get that kind of life changing experience from a surgeon’s suction device.

Liposuction Versus Diet & Exercise- The Costs

The average liposuction procedure in 2009 cost approximately $3,000 in the United States.[10] That  figure represents an out of pocket expense as liposuction is not covered by health insurance as it is a cosmetic procedure. The average cost of a gym membership is between $40 and $60 per month which works out to under $1000 a year- which is one third the cost of a liposuction procedure.  Those figures are not too far off true even with higher end health clubs in urban areas like New York and Los Angeles where the rates can be a bit higher- either way you won’t spend $3,000 for a gym membership. Hiring a personal trainer might be a bit more costly as the rates can range anywhere from $500 to over $1,000 a month for an experienced trainer that can also help you with your diet- but it is worth it. The lessons that you will learn will stay with you for life- as will the results if you stick with the program.

But you need not hire a professional to exercise and eat well. Brisk walking costs nothing, nor does exercising on your own at home or in the park and eating healthy can often result in your spending less money on food. It isn’t the quick fix that liposuction offers but over time a simple program can not only take care of those love handles, but also decrease your risk of everything from heart disease to common forms of cancer, and that at the end of the day is priceless.

References

1. Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index survey July 1-Sept. 30, 2010

2. Akamai Technology Survey  conducted by Forrester Consulting:  2 Seconds as the New Threshold of Acceptability for eCommerce Web Page Response Times

3. The American Society For Aesthetic Plastic Surgery  (ASAPS)

4.What are the Risks or Complications Associated with Liposuction?- Food & Drug Administration

5.American Heart Association (2008, January 23). Daily Exercise Dramatically Lowers Men’s Death Rates. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 14,

6. McNeil K, LeBlanc E, Joyce M. The effect of exercise on depressive symptoms in the moderately depressed elderly. Psychology of Aging

7. Blumenthal JA, Babyak MA, Moore KA, et al. Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression. Archives of Internal Medicine

8. Doyne EJ, Ossip-Klein DJ, Bowman ED, Osborn KM, McDougall-Wilson IB, Neimeyer IB. Running Versus Weight Lifting in the Treatment of Depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

9. Craft LL, Landers DM. The effect of exercise on clinical depression and depression resulting from mental illness: a meta analysis. J Sport Exerc Psychol 1998.

10. Source: The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery for statistical data.

Kevin Richardson is one of New York City’s most sought after personal trainers and the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training . Get a copy of Kevin’s award winning free weight loss ebook here and visit his official website at www.naturallyintense.net.

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Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget- It Can Be Done

In spite of the daily pronouncements of slow economic recovery the majority of the population is still feeling the effects of the global recession. This is great news for cheap processed food manufacturers and fast food outlets as when budgets are tight many see no other alternative than to turn to inexpensive and unhealthy foods as a way of surviving. Unfortunately many believe that given the current economic difficulties the prospect of eating well and losing weight on a budget seems almost impossible as such endeavors are often equated with spending more money on food. But is it really impossible to eat healthy and lose weight while on a tight budget? It can be done, I have done it, so have many others that I have worked with over the years, but it does require a change in your way of thinking. Here are five well used tips to eat healthy and lose weight on a budget:

Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget – Tip 1

Eat Breakfast At Home.

There is a saying back were I come from in the islands that a rich man brings his food while the poor man buys his foods out and that is why the rich man stays rich and the poor man stays poor. It’s pretty accurate as it is always far cheaper and healthier to cook your own meals and carry them with you to work than it is to eat out. A consumer review group found that as many as 37% of Americans adults ate breakfast at a fast food chain within the past month.[1] Not surprisingly McDonald’s was the top restaurant (if you can really call it that) followed by Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks and Burger King rounding out the top four national fast food chains frequented for breakfast.[1]. (As an interesting aside, people who eat breakfast at fast food restaurants tend to have active lifestyles and are 14% more likely than the average adult to belong to a health club and engage in regular exercise- so much for the idea of active people eating healthy!) The general cost for breakfast at McDonalds- which is the cheapest of the lot comes in at about $1-$5 (not including tax) depending on where you are in the United States. For those prices you can get some really terrible foods that will go a long way towards helping you start your day the wrong way (there is nothing remotely healthy about things like Egg McMuffins, hash browns, sausages, breakfast burritos or bacon, eggs and cheese made with the lowest grade food products possible and processed meats) . Now while their dollar menu dominates the morning meal battle by offering a fast and cheap way to eat on the run, it is still cheaper to eat better. But it will take a bit longer.

Here’s why- a perfectly balanced and nutritionally sound breakfast of oatmeal (old fashioned oats- not the instant or sugar added varieties), two egg whites and a banana tallies up to a mere $1.49 using organic bananas and free range eggs! (Click here for a copy of Kevin’s free weight loss ebook on healthy breakfast choices.)A container of Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal costs $4.89 and yields just about 15 servings (they say 30 servings on the container- but no one would really eat that small of an amount in the real world) so figure about 32 cents a meal- a dozen organic free range large brown eggs cost $4.99 a dozen- which only sounds like a lot if you don’t factor in that two egg whites will cost you only 66 cents a meal. The bananas are organic and at 99 cents a pound would cost just about 49 cents for one. Of course you could go even lower if you didn’t choose organic fare and keep in mind that the prices quoted are all from Fresh Direct, which is for the most part a tad more expensive than what you can find if you shopped around. Either way you are still eating breakfast for less than what you would pay for at Starbucks and the regular menus at McDonald’s but you do have to watch your portions, which leads to the next tip on eating healthy on a budget:

Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget – Tip 2

Eat smaller portions.

One of the first things that I noticed when I came to the United States is just how large the portion sizes are. I remember well ordering at a restaurant and being amazed at how much food they piled on my plate, it was at least twice as much as I would have got at a restaurant back in the West Indies! In general few people realize that you really don’t need to eat as much food as they do and that eating less is not only healthy, but will save you money. Knowing how much is enough is not an easy task and studies have consistently shown that most people are unable to accurately estimate their food intake. It is so difficult that a study involving nutrition students that had been rigorously trained in food energy content found that even they had a low level of accuracy (18.5%) in figuring out the caloric value of several foods set in front of them. [3] Also you don’t want to go down the road of measuring your food and counting calories as it can become a bit obsessive and has little to do with a natural way of losing weight. So how do you know how much is enough? Simple, you use my rule of thirds for losing weight.

The rule of thirds- First when preparing your meals, always give yourself one third less than your regular serving. It isn’t that hard to do, but you are in one move cutting your calories, ensuring that you don’t overeat and reducing your food bill by 33%! The second part of my rule of thirds is to imagine your stomach as divided into three equal sections. Now whenever you eat you always leave one third of it empty.

As simple as this may seem, these two easy methods of self regulation have helped everyone from housewives to physique competitors that I have worked with over the years get into optimal shape and it is a simple way to accurately regulate your dietary intake without depriving yourself. It also helps you cut down on your food expenses by eating less. As a result, you will have a little more money to spend on better quality foods.

Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget – Tip 3

Cook Your Meals And Bring Them With You.

We already covered how much cheaper it is to eat in than eat out when it comes to breakfast, but keep in mind that the healthiest of restaurants for lunch or dinner can never be as healthy or cost effective as the food you make at home. The convenience of being able to grab something on the go is appealing, but to get a really good meal, you will pay more buying from a health focused restaurant- and you don’t really know if the food is as healthy as they claim it to be. Chains like subway create the illusion that somehow their foods are healthy- but for the most part, they are not. As for fast foods- they might be easy to get and inexpensive, but keep in mind that you are paying for food- not nutrition and that your body will always want more as it isn’t getting what it needs. Also the price you will pay in medical costs resulting from obesity and the slew of metabolic related diseases that come with it such as diabetes, heart disease and hypertension is a hidden cost in every cheap meal. So what do you do when you don’t have that much to spend on food- cook and carry!

The best way to afford good quality food is to cook all of you meals for the week on the weekend and portion your meals out (using the weight loss rule of thirds) into Tupperware containers that you refrigerate and take with you when you need it. A simple meal consisting of organic chicken, brown rice and lentils can cost as little as $4.05 [2]- which is even less than what it would cost in some fast food chains! An organic chicken costs about $14.00 (I know it sounds like a lot, but trust me it is worth it as all chicken isn’t exactly chicken!) which would yield let’s say four servings (even less if you are under 180 lbs or not very active), which works out to $3.49 per serving. Basmati brown rice costs about $4.29 for a 2 lb bag, which is about ten servings (the label says a ¼ cup per serving which would yield 19 servings, but ½ cup is a bit more realistic) which comes to 42 cents a serving. Add lentils to give everything some flavor and it adds only 14 cents to the total.

You can make these prices go even lower by following these rules:

• Buy in bulk whenever you can- you’ll spend less per serving.
• Avoid uselessly pricey meats like skinless boneless chicken breasts- a whole organic chicken usually costs as much as two or three tiny cutlets and who said you only had to eat chicken breasts to lose weight? Eat the whole chicken!
• Don’t shop hungry- you’ll buy stuff you don’t need.
• If there are farms near where you live- go straight to the source to buy. Farmers are people and you can always strike up a relationship with some of them and not have to pay extra for the transportation and middlemen that it takes to get their produce to the markets!
• Grow something. A small home garden is a good idea for anyone trying to stay on the straight and narrow path of eating well on a budget- the bigger the better, but a small plot on your windowsill is good enough.

Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget- Tip 4

Drink Only Water.

That’s right- stop the coffee, stop the juice and for your own good stop the vitamin water and sports drinks. (Don’t worry about not getting your vitamins by avoiding juices- as you can get more than enough from fruits and vegetables, but with healthy fiber and without the excess calories.) Drinking alcohol is a great way to spend a lot of money on something that will make you gain weight and pretty much negate most of your diet and exercise endeavors and cutting it out will not only help your wallet but your waistline.  The only fluid your body needs is water and if you live in most parts of the United States tap water is fine- most of the bottled water you drink isn’t that better than what comes out of your faucet- it just has millions of dollars in advertising behind it designed to make you think it is. I am always astonished by the number of people that say that they can’t afford to eat healthy and yet ‘treat’ themselves to a Starbucks coffee once or twice a week. At about $5 a week that is $260 a year or two months worth of healthy lunches! Take into consideration how much we spend on juices and the dental fees that accrue as a result of tooth decay and you can clearly see that there are hidden costs involved. Drinking only water will also reduce your caloric intake significantly and you will see a major and permanent reduction in your body weight and body fat if you make the switch and follow the aforementioned guidelines.

To make it work always carry a bottle (not plastic if you can avoid it- we do also have an environment to keep healthy) with you. Don’t spend money on vending machine drinks (or water) and keep refilling it from the tap or water fountain if you have one. Don’t fall into the bottled water trap. Americans spent 15 billion dollars on bottled water in 2006, that’s more money than we spent on iPods or even movie tickets![4] All for something that you can get for free! No study has ever found bottled water to be healthier or better for you than tap water- so put the money you save towards better quality food.

Eating Well & Losing Weight On A Budget- Tip 5

Slow Down And Change The Way You See Time.

You might wonder what time perception has to do with eating healthy on a budget, but it has everything to do with it. We live in fast paced society where every second is supposed to count and convenience has long triumphed over quality. It is the way we see the world that enslaves us as most of us make food choices with the idea that we don’t have enough time to cook, or enough time to find a healthy food alternative or even enough time to leave our desks to sit and have a proper meal. The average American over the age of 15 spends only 67 minutes just eating and drinking and 16 minutes a day eating while working, watching TV or doing some other activity [5, 6] figures far removed from that of our European counterparts who place more importance on the idea of sitting down and enjoying a meal. Four percent of us reported never spending any time just eating or drinking but doing so only while engaged in work or some other activity. It is this very mentality that creates our unnatural perception that our food needs to be something quick. Studies have found that the faster you eat, the more likely you are to overeat[6,7], so don’t make eating a race. Everything comes with a price and fast and convenient food comes with a price that no budget can handle- the price of your health. The price you pay in taking the time to plan and cook your own meals not only saves you money, but will go a long way towards helping you achieve the type of body that you can be proud of, and how priceless is that?

Related Resources:

Get a copy of Kevin’s free weight loss ebook on healthy breakfast choices

Sources

1.      Scarborough Research, Scarborough USA+ Study, Release 2 2009

2.      Fresh Direct

3.      Japur CC, Diez-Garcia RW. Food energy content influences food portion size estimation by nutrition students. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2010

4.      Fast Company Magazine- Message I a bottle- Charles Fishman

5.      Bureau  of Labor Statistics 2006 American Time Use Survey and ERS 2006 Eating & Health

6.      Kokkinos A, Roux CW, Alexiadou K, Tentolouris N, Vincent R, Kyriaki D, Perrea D, Ghatei MA, Bloom S,Katsilambros N. Eating slowly increases the postprandial response of the anorexigenic gut hormones, peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010

7.      Maruyama K, Sato S, Ohira T, Maeda K, Noda H, Kubota Y, Nishimura S, Kitamura A, Kiyama M, Okada T, Imano H, Nakamura M, Ishikawa Y, Kurokawa M, Sasaki S, Iso H.The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full: cross sectional survey. BMJ. 2008

Kevin Richardson is one of the most respected and sought after personal trainers in New York City and his Naturally Intense High Intensity Training system has helped thousands get into better shape in less time over the past 19 years! Follow Kevin on twitter here!

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Keeping Us Fat- Why Not Losing Weight Is Profitable

Diets don’t work and weight loss supplements don’t work- most people are aware of this on some level and yet it doesn’t stop Americans from spending 46 to as much as 100 billion dollars a year on diet products and self help diet books. Studies, (and the personal experience of about anyone you know), have shown that two thirds of Americans that went on a diet regained all the weight they had lost within one year. A whopping 97% gained it all back within a period of five years! [1] The question thus becomes why isn’t the success rate higher at a time when there is more weight loss information out there than ever before? Studies have proven that  lifestyle and not genetics are to blame for our current weight crisis so achieving a healthy body weight is possible for the majority of the population, and yet for all the information, products and medical knowledge at our disposal there are still 1 billion overweight adults on the planet and that number continues to rise.(2) Could it be that on some level it is more profitable to have an overweight population rather than a healthy one?

There is an unavoidable cacophony of contradictory information and weight loss propaganda that exists in our society. It acts as background noise that drowns out the basic (and mostly hard to profit from) tenets that have helped millions of people stay in shape. Namely, a lifestyle change where you avoid high calorie processed foods and incorporate a regular routine of exercise. This approach has been validated by numerous studies and millions of people around the world are able to sustain a healthy weight and fitness level by following these guidelines, so why are we bombarded by so many other ways to lose weight? Given the stakes it seems almost a crime to lead the public on a wild goose chase when so much is at stake in terms of health and when a crime is committed the first step towards identifying the perpetrator is to ask the question ‘Cui bono?’- literally ‘who stands to gain?’ In this case you can’t help but notice that our overweight population is worth billions to the not only the diet, fitness and weight loss industry, but also to the food industry, medical and pharmaceutical industries and interestingly enough the media at large.

How The Diet Industry Profits From Keeping Us Fat

Diets like Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, The Zone Diet, NutriSystem, The Atkins Diet, Weight Watchers, The Ornish Diet, The South Beach Diet, Slim-Fast and the always popular Subway diet all have two major things in common:

1.      Their abysmal long term success rate.

2.      The fact that you have to spend money to follow them.

According to figures from a Forbes report, the above mentioned weight loss diet costs an average of $85.79 a week! That’s more than $30 more than the $54.44 that the average single American spends on food![3] Not only is it expensive but each weight loss plan banks on your failure- that way you will remain a long term customer. It puzzles me that our society allows for an industry that keeps growing in spite of the fact that most of their customers fail. It is equally bewildering that so many different diet systems thrive on the market today. Logically the very existence of so many different systems actually highlights their inherent ineffectiveness. If only one diet system, self help book or workout dvd could provide a safe and effective way for everyone to lose weight and keep it off, then all the others would be out of business.  Instead it makes perfect sense that noise from the diet and weight loss industry should serve to confuse the public in an attempt to keep us fat and their coffers overflowing.

While the economy wallows in the doldrums, the food industry continues to profit by appealing to the nation’s desire for ‘health food products.’

How The Medical Industry Profits From Keeping Us Fat

Surgical procedures are the ultimate quick fix for weight loss and not surprisingly the number of active surgeons performing bariatric weight reduction operations like gastric banding, gastric bypass and variants of these stomach surgeries jumped nearly 500 percent

from 168 in 1993 to 860 in 2003 as the number of gastric bypass surgeries climbed more than 600% during the same period. [4] At an average cost of $30,000 per procedure [4], fees paid mainly by health insurance providers or government health benefit programs with your taxpayer money, it is easy to see how profitable it is for the medical industry. Liposuction is the most popular form of plastic surgery for men and women combined with more than half a million women having the procedure each year.[5] At an average cost of $2500 per procedure it doesn’t take much to realize that it is a huge cash cow for the plastic surgery field.

Equally profitable are prescription diet drugs. Doctor prescribed appetite suppressants and fat absorption inhibitors net millions for the drug companies that make them. Research has shown that while over the short term prescription dietary drugs can help reduce weight and potentially reduce temporarily reduce health risks in obese individuals it is only a short lived benefit as there is no concurrent change in lifestyle. Interestingly enough there are currently no studies to determine the effect of these medications over the long term. Not that we really need them as these drugs can only be administered for a period of weeks and if they were truly effective a single pill would have stopped the obesity epidemic a long time ago!

How The Pharmaceutical Industry Profits By Keeping Us Fat

Unfortunately it is not only the diet and weight loss branches of the pharmaceutical community that profit from you being overweight and staying that way. We know being overweight or obese increases the risk of coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia (high cholesterol or triglyceride levels) and stroke [6]. Thus it should be no surprise that Lipitor- a statin drug designed to reduce cholesterol was the number one best selling drug not only in the United States in 2006 but in the entire world with an impressive 14 billion dollars in US sales alone for the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer![7] To put things in perspective, in the United States, Lipitor made more than twice as much as the nearest other drug, the asthma medication Advair. Not surprisingly several other drugs in the top ten were also used to treat obesity linked diseases such as Plavix by Bristol-Meyer Squib, Norvasc, (another Pfizer drug) and Diovan altogether netting 60 billion dollars in the United States alone in 2006.[7,8] What is cause for concern is that the biggest pharmaceutical companies all profit mainly from diseases related to obesity, companies that have a major role in shaping public health policy- which has failed painfully to curb our growing obesity problem. With literally thousands of lobbyists in Washington, DC and an estimated $855 million spent on lobby activities from 1998 to 2006, pharmaceutical companies spend more than any other industry to ensure that their interests are protected. [9] Interests that focus on increasing profits for their shareholders and not on improving overall public health. Many have criticized the pharmaceutical industry on focusing solely on making drugs that profit from current health problems and not ones that solve them.

How The Media Profits From Keeping Us Fat

It isn’t only the muscle and fitness magazines packed with weight loss product propaganda that profit from an overweight population eager to learn how to be slim and trim, it’s every part of American media- from the news to talk shows. Ask any publicist in how to get on TV and they will tell you that the key stories are weight loss, sex and aging. These issues have always captivated large audiences and the obesity epidemic has given birth to a slew of weight loss reality shows in addition to the bombardment of diet and weight loss tips that flood the airwaves. By making weight loss information a form of entertainment the media does more to confuse people actively seeking credible information on how to improve their health. Unfortunately, the message of healthy lifestyle, exercise and balance isn’t sensational enough and won’t do to entertain the masses so a new and exciting new diet, breakthrough, study, , exercise or system has to be introduced all the time. The result- a confused pubic that stays fat but tunes in to see what they can try next to get into shape.

This impacts women more than any other segment of society and they use this to their advantage. Every women’s magazine faces the challenge of what to print to keep their readers in thrall and so every month they have a new way to lose weight. Research has shown that women’s magazines have over ten times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do. Not surprisingly over 75% of women’s magazine covers include at least one message about how to change bodily appearance by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.  Women’s magazines also have over ten times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines adding to the almost incessant racket of useless weight loss noise.

How The Food Industry Profits By Keeping Us Fat

The list of industries that make billions from our weight problems is a long one and include as well the food industry which has shifted towards the manufacturing of ‘low fat’, ‘reduced sugar’ or ‘organic’ products to benefit from our collective increases in girth. The problem is that those foods are the problem. In 2010 there are more foods labeled ‘natural’, low fat’, ‘diet’ and ‘organic’ than ever before in our history and yet we aren’t getting any healthier. The obesity epidemic continues to increase while studies on cultures that do not consume these so called ‘healthy foods’ universally find that such populations do not suffer the weight problems of developed countries.

Over the past twenty years I have realized that half of the work required to help people lose weight comes teaching them that our very culture is part of the problem. Try to live a healthy lifestyle where you eschew processed foods, exercise and limit or eliminate alcohol from your diet and you immediately become a social pariah. This in itself is a tremendous barrier to overcome when your peers are influenced by many conflicting messages but it is one that must be crossed if you don’t want to help enrich the lives of those that stand to profit from our current health burdens.

Sources

1.       The diet business: Banking on failure. (BBC News World Edition, Feb 5 2003).

2.       World Health Organization

3.       Forbes.com

4.       The American Bariatric Society

5.       Facts On Platsic Surgery- Dustyinfo.com

6.       NIH, NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative. Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults.

7.       Source: MedAdNews 200 – World’s Best-Selling Medicines, MedAdNews, July 2007

8.       Herper, Matthew and Kang, Peter (2006-03-22). “The World’s Ten Best-Selling Drugs”. Forbes.

9.       Center for Public Integrity

10.   The Canadian Women’s Health Network (Body Image and the Media).

Kevin Richardson is an award winning health and fitness writer, natural bodybuilding champion,  creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in Manhattan. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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Obesity And Chronic Disease- Is It Genes Or Lifestyle?

While there is a clear correlation between physical inactivity and bad dietary habits to most chronic diseases in the world today, many offer up genetics and not lifestyle as the major reason for our higher incidences of obesity and the metabolic syndrome that tends to accompany it. Almost 60% of the adult American population is either overweight or obese [1, 2,3] and it is becoming increasingly common to hear genes blamed as the root of our current health crisis. In many ways this rather defeatist attitude would lead one to believe that the leading causes of death in Western society (coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke Type 2 diabetes and cancer) are not preventable and that to succumb to the ravages of these diseases is simply a normal part of the aging process. Taken as a whole, these diseases combine to account for almost 70% of all of the deaths here in the United States [4], and few realize that that these health problems have been for the most part non-existent in many underdeveloped countries for decades, but rise as Western diet and lifestyles become more popular in those countries. [5]

Do Other Cultures Have The Same Problems With Obesity & Disease That  We Do?

To fully understand the impact that our genes have on our health it is useful to observe how other cultures fare when Western diet and relatively sedentary habits are not a factor in daily life.  Studies on the Tarahumara Indians of Northern Mexico, (best known for their running ability), the Pina Indians of Southern Arizona and the Machiguenga Indians of Peru give us interesting insight as to just how much Western lifestyle seems to adversely affect our health. The Pina Indians living on the Indian reservation in Arizona have one of the highest incidences of diabetes known, with approximately 50% of them being Type 2 diabetic. However a group of Pina Indians with the same genetic background as their reservation-living counterparts following a more physical indigenous life in Mexico eating the traditional diet of natural foods have an incidence of Type 2 diabetes of only 10%.[6,7] Similarly when the Tarahumara Indians consume a mostly Western diet they rapidly experience a rise in their blood lipids when compared to their native counterparts. [8]. The Machiguenga Indians, due to the physical requirements for survival without the luxuries of supermarkets and packaged foods expend one third more calories than the average American [9] and chronic diseases as we know them are simply non-existent in modern hunter gatherer societies, highlighting the role of lifestyle in the development of obesity and metabolic disease. [10]

Genes Cannot Be The Only Answer To Obesity & Metabolic Disease

In a paper published in the Journal of Applied Physiology by Frank Booth et al. called, Waging war on modern chronic diseases: primary prevention through exercise biology, researchers note that

“100% of the increase in the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and obesity in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century must be attributed to a changing environment interacting with genes, because 0% of the human genome has changed during this time period.” [11]

In essence, we have not changed. Our genes have not changed, but our way of life and the foods we eat have changed and this more than anything else explains the problems faced by in Western societies. We all inherit the same genome that makes us designed for daily physical activity and a high fiber diet[12] thus sedentary life, processed foods combined with other factors such as smoking alcohol consumption, stress and hazardous elements in our environment inevitably bring about the onset and progression of chronic disease. [10] Most of these factors are easily modified and therefore are realistically preventable through proper diet, exercise and a lifestyle of moderation or abstinence from smoking and excess alcohol consumption. Within the framework of our own society it has been observed that Seventh-Day Adventists have higher life expectancies than other Caucasian groups in the United States thanks in part to choices regarding their diet, patterns of regular exercise and avoidance of cigarettes and alcohol. Research funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health has shown that the average Seven Day Adventist in California lives 4 to 10 years longer than the average Californian. Similarly Mormon studies show that they have a low standardized mortality rate compared to the general U.S. population attributed to their close to the earth lifestyle.[13]

Lifestyle & Environment Not Genes Create Our Health Problems- Not Genes

What does this mean? It means that for the most part genes don’t cause metabolic disease. In some individuals genetic factors may predispose them, but environmental and lifestyle factors are what determines whether disease manifests itself or not [10]. It also means that we are indeed the masters of our own destiny, captains of our own ships and that an individual’s choice to incorporate exercise into their daily life, manage stress and avoid modern processed foods makes far more of a difference in our susceptibility to the cocktail of chronic disease than the genes that we are born with. Make your choice today.

References:

1. Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Kuczmarski RJ, and Johnson CL. Overweight and obesity in the United States: prevalence and trends, 1960–1994. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord

2. Mokdad AH, Bowman BA, Ford ES, Vinicor F, Marks JS, and Koplan JP. The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the United States. JAMA 286: 1195–1200, 2001.

3. Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Dietz WH, Vinicor F, Bales VS, and Marks JS. Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors, 2001. JAMA

4. Arias E, Anderson RN, Kung HC, Murphy SL, and Kochanek KD. Deaths: final data for 2001. Natl Vital Stat Rep

5. Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic diseases. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser

6. Bennett PH. Type 2 diabetes among the Pima Indians of Arizona: an epidemic attributable to environmental change? Nutr Rev 57: S51–S54, 1999

7. 1Valencia ME, Bennett PH, Ravussin E, Esparza J, Fox C, and Schulz LO. The Pima Indians in Sonora, Mexico. Nutr Rev

8.  McMurry MP, Cerqueira MT, Connor SL, and Connor WE. Changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels and body weight in Tarahumara Indians after consumption of an affluent diet [see comments]. N Engl J Med 325: 1704–1708, 1991

9. Montgomery E. Towards representative energy data: the Machiguenga study. Fed Proc

10. Roberts CK, Barnard RJ.  Effects of exercise and diet on chronic disease. J Appl Physiol

11. Booth FW, Gordon SE, Carlson CJ, and Hamilton MT. Waging war on modern chronic diseases: primary prevention through exercise biology. J Appl Physiol

12. Eaton SB and Konner M. Paleolithic nutrition. A consideration of its nature and current implications. N Engl J Med

13. Enstrom JE. Health practices and cancer mortality among active California Mormons. J Natl Cancer Inst

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in New York City. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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5 Reasons Why You Should Never Take Weight Loss Supplements

The prevalence of obesity in the United States continues to increase at alarming levels with one third of the adult population currently overweight or obese. Not surprisingly 15% of the American population uses dietary supplements for weight loss [1] yet in spite of the wide variety of products that purport to induce weight loss, the most one common aspect that they share is their abysmal failure rate. Weight loss is of critical importance to many people, but consumers often lack the information necessary to make informed decisions about the use of potentially harmful products like weight loss supplements. My stance against weight loss supplements is one that is seldom shared by other athletes on the payroll of companies in the industry, but it is one that will never waver. (You wouldn’t waver either if you had to visit your friends in the hospital several times over the course of 20 years thanks to readily available over the counter weight loss supplements.) Here are five reasons why you should never use weight loss supplements:

1. Weight Loss Supplements Don’t Work

It is that simple. Regardless of the widespread and ever present promotion of non prescription diet aids that are supposed to do miraculous things like stop fat absorption from your foods, block carbohydrates and increase your metabolism, the truth is that weight loss supplements will not bring about long term weight loss. Using them is not only a waste of money but a risk to your health as well. In twenty three years in the weight loss business I have yet to see a weight loss supplement help anyone achieve and sustain their ideal bodyweight. Back in the days when dangerous drugs like ephedra were included in weight loss stacks people did see a temporary reduction in their bodyweight while from the use of a powerful and (we know now) potentially deadly drug. But any weight loss quickly went away after stopping it.

Today’s supplements don’t have ephedra anymore and their active ingredients have been proven to be useless as an aid to weight loss. A German study presented at the International Congress on Obesity in Stockholm had 189 either obese or overweight middle aged men and women participate in a weight loss program for eight weeks using nine of the major weight loss products on the market. Half were given commercially available weight loss supplements and the other half took a sugar pill. At the end of the eight week period researchers found that the weight loss supplements were no more effective than the placebo pills.
This study was one of the most rigorous scientifically credible tests of weight loss supplements to date and included common ingredients such as L-carnitine, polyglucosamine, cabbage powder, guarana seed powder, bean extract, Konjac extract, fiber, sodium alginate, chitosan and certain plant extracts either alone or in combination. What we can infer from this study is that weight loss supplements are effective in helping you lose money- not weight.

2. Weight Loss Supplement Companies Are Allowed To Lie

You hear the commercial on television, you see the ads in the magazines and you see your favorite celebrity or athlete endorsing the product or book- but when you tried it you really didn’t see much in the way of weight loss. How could that be when so much is made of the efficacy of the product? Simple- weight loss claims by supplement companies, programs and products are not regulated and their claims do not have to be proven by clinical trials 4. That’s correct; in one of the most developed countries in the world there are no laws that demand truth in advertising when it comes to weight loss supplements or any weight loss product for that matter. Unfortunately the minor snag that the products don’t really work and that the ads are a bit far from the truth doesn’t stop us from spending 1.6 billion dollars on weight loss supplements each year!

Why do we keep spending money if the results are less than advertised? There are two reasons- one is if you are overweight and suffer everyday from the type of negative body image than can be associated with being obese you desperately want to believe that it will work. Not unlike the drowning man reaching for a straw. The ads work by highlighting young men and women that are in phenomenal shape- which makes someone that is overweight even more self conscious and creates a strong awareness of their problem. Thus you are far more apt to believe that the supplement that you are buying really will help you lose weight. This type of emotional manipulation is sadly the cornerstone of marketing today and is far more powerful than most people realize. The other reason why people keep on buying is that weight loss companies always have a steady stream of ‘new and improved’ products coming out, and with them come the growing hope that this new breakthrough formula will be the one that finally helps you lose the weight and keep it off- but it won’t.

3. The Science Of Weight Loss Supplements Is Compromised By Conflict Of Interest

According to Ano Lobb from the Dartmouth Medical School, “trials used to determine product safety and effectiveness…tend to be small, of short duration, and frequently lack financial conflict of interest disclosures.”[2] He goes on to say that “these factors could conspire to place consumers at risk, especially when published research cited in advertising cloaks products with the suggestion that their safety and effectiveness have been proven by science.”[2] In a paper published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology that included analysis from studies published by Hasani Ranjbar et al.[3] Ano Lobb went on to take a critical look at studies passed off as sound science for the promotion of popular weight loss supplements such as:

• Xenadrine- was cited for a study that were far too small (only 47 participants) and far too short a duration (6 weeks) to be clinically credible. The studies used for product promotion also did not have any mention of an independent funding source- so the reader has no way of knowing whether there is a conflict of interest.

• LeptiCore -The material used to market their weight loss product cited a study[4] that followed 62 participants that supposedly reported losing weight, body fat, a reduction in waist size and lowering of their cholesterol, however one of the authors appeared to be a chief scientific officer of a dietary supplement company, and was listed as the inventor of a weight loss supplement whose patent was held by the very same company that he was employed by.

• Hydroxycut Advanced -Studies cited in marketing materials for Hydroxycut were according to Lobb’s paper ‘small and of short duration and reported no serious side effects. In spite of this, Hydroxycut was withdrawn from the market in 2010 after being linked to 23 cases of liver toxicity and one fatality.[5] Again there were no financial conflict of interest disclosures or evidence that funding for the studies were not received by the supplement manufacturers themselves. (Note that after a change of ingredients- Hydroxycut is once again on the market shelves).

4. Weight Loss Supplements Can Kill Or Seriously Harm You

Unlike the far stricter laws applied in Europe and in Canada, manufacturers of dietary supplements here in the United States are not required to conduct any trials to establish the safety or efficacy of their products. All that is required is that a copy of their label is sent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review[6,7,8].  What this means to you the consumer is that you become a lab rat in the post marketing trial of every weight loss product’s safety. Reviews have shown that the FDA only gets about 1% of the harmful events resulting from supplement use by consumers and there is no coordination between the FDA and the Poison Control Center to regulate ill effects from weight loss supplements.[9]

Factor in as well that weight loss supplement companies created for the sole purpose of turning a profit are not always honest and forthcoming about the safety of their products. The manufacturers of the weight loss supplement, Metabolife 356 withheld over 14, 000 reports they received over a 5 year period that documented serious side effects associated with their weight loss supplement product which contained ephedra, including myocardial infarction, stroke, seizure and death[6]. It took 155 deaths before ephedra was banned here in the United States by the FDA, all the while several supplement companies were fully aware of the dangers and continued to sell ephedra to the public.[10]

As mentioned earlier, Hydroxycut, was the number one weight loss product in its market selling just about a million bottles a year[11] was recently pulled from shelves after 23 cases of liver damage and one death[4] and it took only a few months before they were back on the shelves with a ‘new and improved’ formula. That’s how the industry operates- when one ingredient (in this case Garcinia cambogia) is found to be responsible for the sickness and or death of several members of the public, the product is simply reformulated with something else. Lawsuits and other fines from people injured by their products are part of the cost of running their business and is a small drop in the bucket compared to the profits from their weight loss supplements.
5 Weight Loss Supplements Distract From The Real Steps Needed For Long Term Weight Loss

There are no secrets. No magic exercises or magic foods or harmless pills or powders that will help you lose weight. You have to make healthy and sustainable changes in your eating habits and find a way to incorporate exercise into your daily life. Sustainability is a word often associated with our interaction with the environment, but it is time that it is used more frequently with regards to how we approach diet and exercise. You can’t take a weight loss supplement for the rest of your life, nor can you follow an extreme diet or workout for any significant period of time. Don’t be mislead by the temporary weight loss some of these methods may bring about- as any decrease in weight (if any at all) won’t be sustainable. It isn’t easy- if it was we wouldn’t have obesity as a national epidemic, but staying away from weight loss supplements and their instant-weight-loss-cousins gives you a better chance of doing it the right way.
Thanks for reading and I hope you share this article with your friends and family members.

References
1.     Blanck HM, Serdula MK, Gillespie C, Galuska DA, Sharpe PA, Conway JM, Khan LK, Ainsworth BE. Use of nonprescription dietary supplements for weight loss is common among Americans. J Am Diet Assoc.
2.    Lobb A. Science of weight loss supplements: Compromised by conflicts of interest? World J Gastroenterol
3.    Hasani-Ranjbar S, Nayebi N, Larijani B, Abdollahi M. A systematic review of the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines used in the treatment of obesity. World J Gastroenterol
4.    Kuate D, Etoundi BC, Azantsa BK, Kengne AP, Ngondi JL, Oben JE. The use of LeptiCore in reducing fat gain and managing weight loss in patients with metabolic syndrome. Lipids Health Dis
5.    Lobb A. Hepatoxicity associated with weight-loss supplements: a case for better post-marketing surveillance. World J Gastroenterol
6.    Consumers Union. Dangerous supplements: still at large. Consum Rep 2004; 69: 12-17
7.    Morrow JD. Why the United States still needs improved dietary supplement regulation and oversight. Clin Pharmacol Ther
8.    Gardiner P, Sarma DN, Low Dog T, Barrett ML, Chavez ML, Ko R, Mahady GB, Marles RJ, Pellicore LS, Giancaspro GI. The state of dietary supplement adverse event reporting in the United States. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf
9.    Gardiner P, Sarma DN, Low Dog T, Barrett ML, Chavez ML, Ko R, Mahady GB, Marles RJ, Pellicore LS, Giancaspro GI. The state of dietary supplement adverse event reporting in the United States. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf
10.    Moran M. Did delay of ephedra ban cause unnecessary deaths? Psych News
11.    Weight control a high priority. Chain Drug Rev

Kevin Richardson is the creator of Naturally Intense High Intensity Training 10 Minute Workouts™ and one of the most sought after personal trainers in Manhattan. Get a copy of his free weight loss ebook here.

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