The Culture of Dieting
in America
By
Melanie Overland
10/26/2005
Topics Covered:
Facts about obesity in America
Diet culture and media influences
Effectiveness of popular weight
loss programs
Weight cycling: long-term effects?
Summary and conclusion
Obesity in America
Obesity is the second leading cause of
preventable death in the U.S.
Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are
overweight, 60 million are obese
Approximately 62 percent of female Americans
are considered overweight
An estimated 400,000 deaths per year may be
attributable to poor diet and low physical activity
*All statistics taken from the Obesityinamerica.org website.
How the media influences dieting
According to a recent survey of adolescent girls, the media is their main
source of information about women‟s health issues
One study of mass media magazines discovered that women‟s magazines
had 10.5 times more advertisements and articles promoting weight loss
than men‟s magazines did
A study of one teen adolescent magazine over the course of 20 years found
that in articles about fitness or exercise plans, 74% cited “to become more
attractive” as a reason to start exercising and 51% noted the need to lose
weight or burn calories
The average young adolescent watches 3-4 hours of TV per day
A study of 4,294 network television commercials revealed that 1 out of
every 3.8 commercials send some sort of “attractiveness message,” telling
viewers what is or is not attractive. These researchers estimate that the
average adolescent sees over 5,260 “attractiveness messages” per year.
*all statistics taken from National Eating Disorder Association website
"I feel like a
teenager!
When I started
Americans spend an
the diet, I had
35 percent body
average of $40
fat, and that BILLION A YEAR
percentage is
now down to 15 on dieting and diet
percent. I've lost
60 pounds to related products!
date and have
never in my life Dieting advertisements are
had so much everywhere in the media – TV
energy."* commercials, internet
Susan, 32 advertisements, magazines….
Unfortunately, the „results not
typical‟ is usually not
observed by the general
population
So, is dieting helpful or not?
Review article by Lowe and Timko: 3 perspectives
Harmful: Obese dieters develop a variety of
emotional reactions when they lose weight (Garner
& Wooley).
Conscientious objectors who rapidly lost about
25% of their body weight and then were given
food again developed a variety of emotional
problems and binge eating habits (Keys et al).
Ineffective: Most weight loss programs are
effective in the short term but within a few years
the weight is regained. A study by Hensrud
found that those who intentionally seek and
participate in weight loss programs have no
advantage over those who are not intentionally
trying to lose weight or have had no
instructions.
Most weight lost by dieting is eventually
regained (Garner & Wooley).
Helpful: Obese individuals who engage in binge
eating habits significantly lower the frequency of
binging when dieting, and it remains lower even
if weight is regained (Foster).
National data shows that long term dieters lose
an average of 9-12 lbs and short term dieters (4-
6 weeks) lose an average of 8-10 lbs (French and
Jeffery).
A comparison of popular diets:
1 year study completed by Dansinger et al.
Design: 160 subjects were assigned to one of
four popular diets: Atkins, Zone, Weight
Watchers or Ornish (low fat diet)
Overweight or obese, ages 22-72 (mean age 35)
After 2 months of strict adherence, subjects
were allowed to select their own level of
adherence.
Results
Atkins: average weight loss was 2.1 kg and 21 of
40 participants completed the study (53%).
Zone: average of 3.2 kg weight loss and 26 of 40
participants completed the study (65%).
Weight Watchers: average loss of 3.0 kg and 26
of 40 participants completed the study (65%).
Ornish: average loss of 3.3 kg and 20 of 40
participants completed the study (53%).
Weight Cycling
Weight cycling is defined as cycles of weight loss
or gain.
Commonly believed to lead to decreased
metabolic rate and thus overall weight gain
This does not seem to be the case
However, there does seem to be a correlation
with higher instances of binge eating among
extreme weight cyclers (this does not equal
causation!!!)
So what does it all mean?
Obesity is a very real issue in American society
Dieting can be effective or ineffective based on
your goals and personal reasons for dieting,
adherence and continuance
However, fad diets are not usually effective in the
long run – results not typical!
The best plan of action is slow and steady
Weight cycling, although frustrating, does not
seem to show any long term effects…so don‟t give
up!
References
Bartlett, S.J., Wadden, T.A., and Vogt, R.A. “Psychosocial Consequences of Weight
Cycling.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1996). Vol 64: 587-592.
Dansinger, M.L et al. “Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers and Zone Diets
for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction.” JAMA (2005). Vol 293:
43-53.
French, S.A., and Jeffery, R.W. “Consequences of Dieting to Lose Weight: Effects on
Physical and Mental Health.” Health Psychology (1994). Vol 13: 195-212.
“kNOw Dieting: Risks and Reasons to Stop”. National Eating Disorder Association. 10 Oct.
2005
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41162.
Lowe, M.R. and Timko, C.A. “Dieting: Really Harmful, Merely Ineffective or Actually
Helpful?” British Journal of Nutrition (2004). Vol 92: s19-s22.
National Task Force on the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity. “Dieting and the
Development of Eating Disorders in Overweight and Obese Adults.” Arch Internal
Medicine (2000). Vol 160: 2581-2589.
“Obesity by the Numbers.” Obesity in America.org. 10 Oct. 2005.
http://www.obesityinamerica.org/bythenumbers.html.
Tsai, A.G., and Wadden, T.A. “Systematic Review: An Evaluation of Major Commercial
Weight Loss Programs in the United States.” Annals of Internal Medicine (2005).
Vol 142: 56-66.