the importance of becoming fit and seeking out reliable nutritional information

by Don Ardell, PhD, Wellness Center Director

Many Americans are obsessed with their weight. Just the same, they refrain from doing the one thing that more than anything else would enable them to deal effectively with excess weight, namely, exercise vigorously on a daily basis. It is easy to understand why. The culture does not support such a vigorous training regimen, few doctors recommend it, and, of course, it is hard work and time-consuming.

Do you think YOU need to lose weight, and if so, how much? Most important, how committed are you to not just losing the weight but keeping it off? Furthermore, what is your primary motivation? Is it to look better and impress your friends? Is it to reduce your high blood pressure, blood glucose and/or cholesterol levels or otherwise to try to avoid health problems? These are good reasons but poor long-term motivators. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you are better advised to look for ways to become deeply committed to fitness. Becoming and staying fit should be a driving force in your life-fitness alone will lead to optimal weight and a dramatically more satisfying lifestyle based upon self-management for lifestyle artistry.

Some experts in the medical field claim that half the American population is trying to lose weight at any given time, usually with a mind-boggling variety of diet schemes. All are doomed to failure. When you fail over and over to lose weight in this manner, you are worse off than if you never tried at all. The reasons for this include lost confidence, the adoption of destructive eating patterns and a loss of self-esteem. Failed diets also lead to more weight than was temporarily lost! When that cycle is repeated, hopelessness can set in.

There is no question but that being overweight, particularly if unfit and obese, puts people at high risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and even some cancers. While fitness is key and more important than any other factor, in my view, sound nutrition is also vital. There are so many really bad diets, useless products and dangerous charlatans out there! It pays to get nutritional information from reliable sources who are not trying to sell you stuff. One excellent source is the Food and Nutrition Science Alliance (FANSA). This organization is well known for its "Ten Red Flags of Junk Science," which are worth repeating:

Recommendations that promise a quick fix.
Dire warnings of danger from a single product or regimen.
Claims that sound too good to be true.
Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study.
Recommendations based on a single study.
Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations
Lists of "good" and "bad" foods.
Recommendations made to help sell a product.
Recommendations based on studies published without peer review.
Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups.

Other recommended sources of nutritional information are:

American Dietetic Association (ADA)
Society for Nutrition Education
American Institute of Nutrition
American Cancer Society
American Medical Association
American Heart Association
American Diabetes Association

Ultimately, you are responsible for all your choices, including the approaches you select for pursuing lifelong fitness and good nutrition. Choose well -- the quality and the length of your existence depend upon it.

Be well. Look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area category of nutrition. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

Posted October 2002