"As the rage for slimness grows apace, with apparently no limit in sight, the number, audacity, and unadulterated foolishness of the alleged obesity-cures and flesh-reducers keeps step with the demand. Some are merely picturesque and amusing; some are dangerous; all are misleading."
The language may be antiquated but the message is contemporary: Beware of diet plans that offer big results for little or no effort. You might be surprised to know that the above quote is from an expose called "Swindled Getting Slim," published in 1914 by Good Housekeeping.
A Century of "Snake Oil" Remedies
Charlatans, quacks and hucksters have espoused the wonders of diet cures since the late 1800s. Many of the early preparations contained powerful laxatives, but most were little more than Epsom salts, washing soda or ordinary bath powder. The more extreme remedies relied on dangerous, sometimes lethal, elixirs concocted by shady doctors.
Dinitrophenol, still used today as an insecticide and herbicide, was once advertised as a "new and safe way to lose weight." Calories were burned lethally fast as the body’s metabolic rate accelerated out of control. Dinitrophenol was exposed and banned but quietly returned to the market in 1987.
Nicholas Bachynsky, a Texas physician, made a fortune peddling the same old poison, sold under the name Mitcal, in his “Never Be Fat Again” weight loss plan. Believers paid $1000 for each toxic treatment. Bachynsky’s license was eventually revoked, but not before 14,000 people had paid the price for his greed.
The Dangers Still Lurk
Today’s entrepreneurs offer the same bloated promises of quick and easy weight loss, targeting women more often than men and encouraging aggressive dieting at the expense of long-term health. Lured by flashy advertising and Hollywood perfection, dieters take the bait and abandon anything as unglamorous as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain foods, and low-fat dairy products.
Many of the latest diet trends are marketed with a guarantee of balanced nutrition and lasting weight loss. Weeding through this garden of inflated claims can be overwhelming: Liquid meals, pills, candy bars, high protein diets, carbohydrate-loaded diets, grapefruit at every meal, and pre-packaged dinners offer quick fixes for little effort. But it’s not that simple. There are no miracle diets. The best way to lose weight, according to the Dietetic Association, is to reduce calories and increase physical activity.
Follow a balanced diet with fewer sugars and fewer high-fat foods, drink plenty of water, increase your intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and exercise regularly. A balanced and nutritious eating plan, if it’s going to last, requires a change in attitude and lifestyle. A good goal is to lose one pound a week. Or you can try Fletcherizing, popularized in the early 1900s by Horace Fletcher who recommended chewing food exactly 32 times but not swallowing. The pounds will come off fast…it’s your call.
George Conway - George Conway is a freelance writer with twenty years of experience in healthcare and non-profit training, management and administration. ...
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