Newswise — America seems to be a country on a diet. At any one time, more than 25 percent of men and 45 percent of women are dieting, yet the United States has the highest incidence of obesity in the world.
University of Michigan Health System cardiovascular nutritionist Marilyn Migliore counsels that it's not just what Americans eat that is the problem; it's also why we eat. She offers some suggestions to make your New Year's resolutions stick and help ensure 2005 is the year we abandon the "diet mindset" to controlling our eating decisions.
A country on a diet
"Americans are obsessed with dieting and food." says Migliore, M.S., R.D., C.S.W., a cardiovascular nutritionist/social worker. It's not surprising that The South Beach Diet has consistently ranked as one of the top five advice books on The New York Times best seller list. The irony is that 64 percent of adults in the United States remain either overweight or obese " the highest incidence on the planet.
Migliore says that, in part, the messages we receive are to blame.
"The food industry has spent $30 billion in advertising. It's overwhelming in amount, powerful in presentation and pernicious in outcome. It has conditioned us to become food eating machines," says Migliore, author of The Hunger Within.
The diet industry has also done its part to get Americans on the dieting bandwagon: from Atkins to South Beach; 'low carb' to 'no carb;' Anna Nicole Smith " before and after; and those 'lose 10 pounds in 10 days' gimmicks. These "quick-fix" approaches amount to putting a band-aid on the symptoms but ultimately exacerbating the problem, says Migliore.
"The dieting industry has rigid rules (from points systems to unnecessarily strict diet menus). As long as we are following those rules and being 'good,' we feel virtuous and good about ourselves. But when we don't follow the rules " often making a simple mistake or indulging ourselves, we begin to feel bad about ourselves," she says.
While the diet industry attempts to provide numerous options for healthy weight-loss to consumers, it also perpetuates feelings of inadequacy, decreased self-worth and the sense of failure.
"We reach for food as a source of comfort. Often times, we just feel a void or emptiness inside and we reach for food to fill it," explains Migliore. "The food industry actually reinforces some of these messages, and in many ways, uses the messages to trigger us to try to fill this emptiness."
Meaning where meaning is due
Americans are spending more than $40 billion on dieting and diet-related products, yet an astonishing 95 percent of dieters will regain the weight that they've lost within one to five years.
"I think we need to abandon the whole diet mentality altogether and begin to diffuse some of the power that we've attached to foods," Migliore explains. "What we need to do is start operating on facts " seeing food for what it is, and for what it has (or does not have) to offer us."
Simply put, food does not have to hold any more significance for us than a form of nutrition and energy. Learning the facts about food and diets, and examining some of the meanings you attach to foods can help you learn to deflect the often conflicting, inaccurate and ambiguous diet and food messages that bombard us every day.
"The dieting mentality is exacerbating the obesity problem. We can shift away from that mindset by, rather than looking at food in terms of what you should and should not be eating, just make the decisions based on what the particular food is going to provide you," Migliore explains. "Learning to use the tools we have available to us, such as reading nutrition labels; and understanding how our internal and external environment can affect why, how much and when we eat, can ensure that we manipulate our own environments and keep it from manipulating us."
Migliore's quick tips:Many people confuse symptoms of hunger with symptoms of dehydration. Be sure you're well-hydrated so you're less likely to reach for food.
Eat high-volume foods " those that are high in water and fiber content. Fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods are good examples. Limit processed foods which are dense in calories but contain little water or fiber.
Before you sit down to eat, ask yourself if you're truly hungry " sometimes you'll find it's more routine than real hunger. Or, there might be other issues going on that make you want to eat. Eat only when hungry.
U-M Health System healthy nutrition resources
The U-M Health System's top 10 reasons to give up dietinghttp://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/primry/nutri10.htm
Balanced diet pointershttp://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/primry/nutri03.htm
Diet and Exercisehttp://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/topics/fit07.htm
American Heart Association
Alternatives to Fad Dietshttp://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=510
Campaign against fad dietshttp://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2172
Dietary guidelineshttp://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1330
Related links:
The Hunger Withinhttp://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/hunger.htm
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