In a sense, I think you are right. The nature of the capitalist economy is such that businesses that make a profit have people who would like to keep making that profit. To this end, deliberately killing off your revenue source isn't a smashing idea.
While I doubt collusion between the diet industry and the fast food industry, I'm sure the diet people don't exactly cry tears over the fact that unhealthy food is easy to get in today's society, for it certainly helps their revenue source!
:tongue:
However as much as I like the 1950s and 1960s I doubt many of us would like to spend 25 years working at the steel factory as a way to stay fit. :shade:
hmm.. correct me if i'm wrong.. but what that statement is saying is whatever industry/cause that exists to prevent something is the evidence of its failure.. doesn't this analogy apply to a lot of things?
for example.. we have police forces to regulate crime.. but crime still exists.. does this mean that the police are failures? or what about organizations trying to ban child labour? they still happen in many developing countries.. does that mean their attempts to do so futile? and maybe charity too.. (since it's so close to christmas) we make monetary donations.. give out food and clothing so the homeless can be helped.. but you still see them around the corner of the streets.. huddling here and there.. then.. according to your statement.. aren't those who donate somewhat failures themselves?
I really agree with Siuying on this... I think it's somewhat sort-sighted to lump the entire diet industry into one pool of money-grubbing entities.
Yes, for the most part, the diet industry is like any money making industry. In order for them to increase their profit they need to charge more and continue to lure customers. And there are many which prey on the idea of making customers lose some weight and then plateau. One of the most well-known diets like this is Slim-Fast. They do a great job at making customers lose water weight quickly but do not offer life long results. Thus they employ celebrities and pseudo-success stories to lure people back again and again.
With that said, the diet industry is a necessary medical tool. Ask anyone with Type II Diabetes and they will tell you it can be a life saver. But than again, the medical based diet community is focused more on dealing with the side effects of obesity and want to improve patent's lives. And most medical diets based on nutritionists are simply well-balanced diets with less calories taken in and more expended. Of course, even this is a simplification, because many patients aren't there simply to lose weight. There are sodium reducing diets, fat reducing diets, cholesterol reducing diets, etc. All with very specific criteria and guidelines.
In all honesty, the sort of thinking that started this thread could easily be applied to any field you wanted to bad mouth. I mean why would doctors cure you if they could keep making money off of you? Why would researchers discover anything if they just told their grant holders enough to keep the money flow? Why would programmers write good code if they could get paid for code that worked well enough and make money off updating it?
The existence of the diet industry is evidence of its failure. Any thoughts?
They are just trying to earn money on either desperate or/and lazy people (and the ones who only think they are too fat). (By desperate I mean people who can't (mostly) be blamed for their weight, and that is really trying all there is, by lazy I mean the ones who simply are to lazy to train, and the ones who think they are too fat but are not simply believe they needs to be supermodel-skinny but is naturals.)
Ha, but your question is kinda funny ;) - I remember me and my brother asked the same question once we were kids.. - We thought it was really funny! :)
Comments
While I doubt collusion between the diet industry and the fast food industry, I'm sure the diet people don't exactly cry tears over the fact that unhealthy food is easy to get in today's society, for it certainly helps their revenue source!
:tongue:
However as much as I like the 1950s and 1960s I doubt many of us would like to spend 25 years working at the steel factory as a way to stay fit. :shade:
for example.. we have police forces to regulate crime.. but crime still exists.. does this mean that the police are failures? or what about organizations trying to ban child labour? they still happen in many developing countries.. does that mean their attempts to do so futile? and maybe charity too.. (since it's so close to christmas) we make monetary donations.. give out food and clothing so the homeless can be helped.. but you still see them around the corner of the streets.. huddling here and there.. then.. according to your statement.. aren't those who donate somewhat failures themselves?
i hope i made sense.. =)
toodles~
Yes, for the most part, the diet industry is like any money making industry. In order for them to increase their profit they need to charge more and continue to lure customers. And there are many which prey on the idea of making customers lose some weight and then plateau. One of the most well-known diets like this is Slim-Fast. They do a great job at making customers lose water weight quickly but do not offer life long results. Thus they employ celebrities and pseudo-success stories to lure people back again and again.
With that said, the diet industry is a necessary medical tool. Ask anyone with Type II Diabetes and they will tell you it can be a life saver. But than again, the medical based diet community is focused more on dealing with the side effects of obesity and want to improve patent's lives. And most medical diets based on nutritionists are simply well-balanced diets with less calories taken in and more expended. Of course, even this is a simplification, because many patients aren't there simply to lose weight. There are sodium reducing diets, fat reducing diets, cholesterol reducing diets, etc. All with very specific criteria and guidelines.
In all honesty, the sort of thinking that started this thread could easily be applied to any field you wanted to bad mouth. I mean why would doctors cure you if they could keep making money off of you? Why would researchers discover anything if they just told their grant holders enough to keep the money flow? Why would programmers write good code if they could get paid for code that worked well enough and make money off updating it?
See the pattern.
Ha, but your question is kinda funny ;) - I remember me and my brother asked the same question once we were kids.. - We thought it was really funny! :)