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by Reena Daruwalla, guest writer for Nancy Hayssen.com

Recently I read an article on how Nutisystem, the ‘send you the food’ diet plan is the fastest growing American company which has enjoyed phenomenal success in spite of the general slowing down of the economy and the ongoing recession in the US. This is an indicator of the American preoccupation; even obsession with weight loss.

Not that I am saying anything against Nutrisystem; by all accounts the meals are low in sodium and unhealthy fats, contain whole grains and offer a variety of foods and the pre-apportioned meal sizes apparently work for a lot of people both in terms of health and convenience. My point is only that weight loss is so central to so many lives and on so many people’s agendas that this diet system has become really popular and the company has reported an amazing 433% earnings per share growth and a 225% revenue growth!

The weight-loss business is a booming industry all over the world and perhaps even more so in the US. Americans spend an estimated $30 billion a year on all types of diet programs and products, including diet foods and drinks. Trying to sort out all of the competing claims made by various companies are often misleading, unproven, or just plain false. Needless to say they can be costly too.

So it is that people believe tall claims such as ‘Eat what you want and lose weight’ or ‘Lose weight while you sleep’ and are lured by miraculous looking before and after pictures that promise to work miracles on anyone who wants to part with their money. Another worrying factor is that this is a largely unregulated industry so if there is a claim of ‘Active Ingredients’ made, there is no way to verify the veracity of these claims.

The weight loss industry also seems to specialize in scare mongering by publicizing ‘studies’ that tell you the mortality rate of overweight people and about how a majority of Americans are overweight to the point that their weight is a hazardous to their health and well being. The media and fashion industry perpetuating this myth of thin is healthy aids and abets the weight loss industry in their attempt to misguide people.

Rather than buy into all this hype we need to recognize that an active life style with healthy eating habits are good for us and strive to incorporate that in our everyday lives.