When thinking about the weight-loss and diet industry, most of us picture a benevolent force looking after our best intentions and health needs. Every day we are saturated by the media with stock footage of obese people who seemingly have no heads or faces, warning us about the epidemic of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. After the news clip rolls, we are inundated with advertisements promoting acid reflux medication and weight-loss surgery. While losing weight and maintaing a healthy lifestyle are important, there are some underhanded tactics the weight-loss industry uses to market to you.

BMI and Diet Programs

The Body Mass Index (BMI) has been the standard bearer of telling people whether they are healthy, overweight, obese, or morbidly obese since the 1830′s. It was originally developed to measure and analyze the weight and mass of entire populations as a whole and not just individuals.

According to a report on CNN, BMI became the primary way to measure weight in the 1970′s when groups like Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig lobbied to get the sustainable numbers lowered to their desired specifications. Because of this, health food systems like NutriSystem and crash diets such as Atkins and South Beach have become popularized and made tons of money off of the hopes and desires of the overweight.

Supplements

One of the biggest rackets in the entire weight-loss industry is the pushing of diet pills and supposed health foods on women. In magazines and television, images and videos of waif like celebrities and vixens are presented at an alarming rate. Right next to these unrealistic depictions are ads for products like TrimSpa, Xenadrine, and a whole galaxy of stimulants designed to promote appetite suppression.

For men, building muscle an getting a ripped and shredded physique is a goal that can lead to harmful substance abuse issues. From an early age men are shown images of action heroes, professional wrestlers, and football players who are genetic freaks instead of the average size of most men. Because of perceived inadequacies, men purchase products like whey protein, amino acids, and nitrous oxide, which Livestrong says cause little improvement in muscle growth.

For-Profit Benevolence

If you visit a gym and use the personal trainers, various cardiovascular machines, and scattered resistance training equipment, you are the weight-loss industry’s number one enemy. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is important to stick with a cardiovascular routine 3-5 times a week for a sustained period of time in order to lose weight effectively.

One of the few truly benevolent marketing tactics of the health food and weight loss industry is their ability to help senior citizens retain healthy weight. According to The Alzheimer’s Society, the early stages of dementia usually cause massive amounts of weight loss. By drinking products with high amounts of protein and designer fat, seniors are able to keep some weight on and live a healthier lifestyle. Because of this, Brookdale Senior Living reviewsare at an all time high and government programs like Medicaid are more likely to provide funding while creating jobs in a sluggish economy.

Is there an obesity epidemic in America? Yes. Are we going about treating it correctly? No. Instead of looking for quick fix solutions like pills, powders, and magic foods, we should look towards doctors, regular exercise, and dinners that don’t end with the phrase “value meal.” All of the tools to living healthier are in the grocery store, you just need to learn how to cook with them.