The continual obsession with dieting can have a devastating effect on your health. This is particularly true in the Western world, where body image is of utmost importance, as evidenced by the billions of dollars spent on keeping fit and slim. Given that an ideal body weight not only creates a better body image but also makes an individual seem healthier, many people become obsessed with weight loss that they would do anything just to lose pounds or to lose belly fat.
Are these millions of people really improving their health through their weight loss efforts?
Maybe not! Many individuals simply jump on the bandwagon, oblivious to the fact that drastic weight loss can have detrimental effects on every part of the body, and can even be fatal, including sudden death syndrome.
Indeed, weight loss should be a health-related endeavor, not simply an urge to improve the body image. However, many medically supervised weight loss programs seem to brush aside the detrimental effects with the rational that the end justifies the means. A case in point is that high-risk patients are commonly subjected to high-risk treatments just to reduce their body weight. Maybe this has everything to do with the mentality of the general public—everybody wants a quick fix with immediate results. This mentality is further fueled by the powerful weight loss industry that preys on the gullible public, and its entrenchment with policy makers. The result is an array of every method imaginable aimed at weight loss: pills, surgery, diets, starvation, and purging.
But there is little research to support the effectiveness of these methods at weight loss. And why would money be spent on these research studies when the public is too ready and too willing?
You can lose weight through weight loss exercises, but compulsive exercise may overstress your heart as well as result in stress injuries.
You can lose weight through smoking or not giving up smoking. Nicotine can eliminate calories, but at the expense of damaging your heart and lungs. Give up the nicotine addiction.
Dieting is the most common method of weight loss. There are too many “fad diets” in the consumer market, and many simply “starve” you. Calorie deprivation is the cause of yo-yo dieting and the failure of many weight loss attempts.
Induced vomiting to lose extra pounds is common among adolescents and young adults. Use of laxatives and water pills may lead to eating disorders. In addition, the loss of potassium and dehydration contribute to gallstones, cardiac disorders, and hair loss.
Obesity surgery does not solve weight loss problems. In addition to many complications, obesity surgery can bring weight control only for the first few years.
Weight loss is a complex and complicated health problem. Get a FREE copy of my e-book All-Round Weight Loss to find out more.
There are certainly safe ways to reduce fat and lose weight. Try Fat Loss Secret, and Yoga Weight Loss Secrets to lose weight without health risks.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
