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The Facts About Dieting
* Obesity is responsible for almost 1,000 deaths a day in the US – Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop Shape Up America, 1994
* Americans spend $300 million per year on diet products.
* The average American woman wears a size 12 to 14 clothing.
* There has been a significant increase in the number of diet articles appearing in popular women's magazines during the past twenty years.
* Women need a fat level of approximately 22% of their body weight in order to menstruate normally.
* Most diets fail in the long run, causing dieters to repeatedly lose and regain weight after returning to their pre-diet weight. There is some evidence that this yo-yo pattern of weight loss and gain is more hazardous to health than remaining moderately overweight.
* There are many health risks associated with extreme obesity, but it is not a major health hazard to be a few pounds overweight. A little bit of extra weight can help a person fight off diseases that leave others dangerously emaciated.
* People subjected to semi-starvation diets become preoccupied with food, often experiencing dreams involving eating.
* Excessive dieting can lead to irritability, depression, withdrawal and sexual disinterest.
* Bingeing is the body's natural response to excessive dieting. The more you diet, the more you feel the need to eat. The best defense against binge eating is to eat regularly and in moderation.
* 50% of women were either “not very” or “not at all” satisfied with their bodies. 90% said they needed to lose weight. – 1994 Prevention Magazine survey
* 54% would rather be run over than be extremely fat. 2/3 would rather be mean or stupid than fat. – 1994 Esquire Survey
* 25 million men and 43 million women are dieting to lose weight at any given time, 21 million men and 26 million women dieting to maintain weight, and 3 million girls and 1 million boys say they “skip meals” to lose weight. – 2000 Journal of the American Medical Association.
* The average dieter spends roughly 6 months of every year dieting, the other 6 months gaining most, if not all, or more, back.
* 80% of girls have been on at least 1 diet.
* The #1 surgical technique performed in the US is liposuction.
* In 2001 - 385,390 liposuction's were performed, that's a 118% increase since 1997.
* 40% of US is dieting at any one time.
* In 1991 the average US adult weighed 10 pounds more than they did in 1981. In 1998 the average US adult weighed 9 pounds more than they did in 1991. - US Center for Disease Control & Prevention
* 3 reasons why adults in the US are getting fatter:
* Only 10% – 20% of people trying to lose weight get in at least 150 minutes of exercise per week – the minimum amount recommended by US General Surgeon.
* When finished with a calorie restricted diet Dr. Ancel Keys from the University of Minnesota found that the average dieter had gained 7 lbs. more fat than before the diet. The reason is a “thrifty gene” a genetic predisposition to hoard fat in preparation for the next famine.
* 1 out of 5 US adults are classified as obese. The increase in the average weight of US adults during the past two decades is about 15 lbs.
* Center for Disease Control & Prevention says 44% of women want to lose weight.
* 1 in 3 people meet the minimum recommendation for vegetables alone. Only 1 in 5 people meet the minimum recommendation for fruit.
* Children ages 2 – 18 average only 2.6 servings of vegetables and 1.6 servings of fruit per day.
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