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INTERESTING
DIETING FACTS
- 80% of all American
women are on diets and Americans spend $300 million per year on diet
products.
- American standards
for ideal weight have become thinner and thinner over the past twenty
years. During the same time period, the weight of the average adult has
increased by five pounds due to improved nutrition.
- The average American
woman wears a size 12 to 14 clothing.
- Playboy centerfolds
and Miss America Pageant contestants have become thinner over the past
twenty years.
- There has been a
significant increase in the number of diet articles appearing in popular
women's magazines during the past twenty years. If any diet worked,
there wouldn't be so many around to follow.
- Women need a fat
level of approximately 22% of their body weight in order to menstruate
normally.
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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.
- Our bodies may be
biologically preprogrammed to weigh a certain amount. Each of us may
have a predetermined weight "set point" that our systems automatically
attempt to maintain. Most animals maintain their body weight within a
narrow range, suggesting a naturally "built-in" system of weight
regulation.
- 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.
Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Anorexia and
Bulimia.
01/00 CCS University Health Service
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