Taking the pulse of the nation

This year has seen the seventh opinion survey by the American Dietetic Association. It has been monitoring attitudes towards diet and nutrition since 1991 with irregular surveys. In this most recent, the headline is that three-quarters of those surveyed refused to give up the food they liked, with 80% stating there was no need to change their current diet. Now, as headlines go, this could be good or bad. If everyone liked healthy food in smaller portions, they would not have to give up anything they liked in order to maintain a low body weight. But if everyone likes a diet rich in fat, laced with salt and full of sugar, then their waistlines will continue expanding at an ever faster rate. Since the ability to lose weight depends on a willingness to change what you eat, the headline is more likely bad news. No matter how good a drug like acomplia - in clinical trials, participants lost an average of 10% of their body weight - it only works in conjunction with diet and exercise. For the purpose of analysis, the survey divides people into three groups. Just over 40% claimed they were already taking the action necessary to reduce their weight. Just under 40% fell into the "guilt" group, i.e. they knew they should and would just as soon as they could but, until then, they would just feel guilty about not doing it. The remainder fell into the group unable or unwilling to struggle against the enormity of the problem. There has been a slight reduction in the number of people falling into this last class, but the percentage of those who claim to be taking positive steps remains fairly steady. All the Association can say is that more people seem to be aware of the need to think about their diet and the need to take some exercise. The majority, however, seem focused on the belief that there will soon be a miracle cure. As it stands, acomplia and the other appetite suppressants rely on the individuals to diet and exercise. Most seem to be waiting for the mythical "fat-buster" - a tablet that will produce instant weight loss with no pain. As a group, women claim to be more responsible when it comes to dieting, but neither gender has any real interest in exercise. Both sexes seem to have a slightly better awareness of health issues such as those involving the use of trans-fat, but this is yet to translate into action to eliminate "bad" foods and eat smaller portions on a less frequent basis. The hope is that, as more do search out information, they may become convinced of the need to act. Unfortunately, television is the most popular source of information and, with advertising interests so strongly represented, this is not the most reliable source. It all comes down to convenience both in the food itself and the source of information. When that seems to be failing, it is convenient to try a tablet like acomplia. You never know, it might work - actually, it does work, but only when people confront the reality and both diet and exercise.