The Boom of the Diet Industry

     According to Business Exchange, Americans spend an estimated $40 million a year on weight loss programs and products. People are taking any measure to loose weight even if it comes in pill form. Diets have become more and more popular as Americans struggle to achieve the "perfect" weight. Approximately 7 percent of American adults use over-the-counter (OTC) weight-loss supplements, with the highest percent of users being young women, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. 
     It all began when a new wave of image consciousness hit America. In the 1950s, doctors began prescribing diet pills containing amphetamines to patients who wanted to lose weight (Provenzano, 2010). Substance abuse led doctors to discontinue prescriptions 10 years later. Ayds became popular during the 1970s and 1980s but soon disappeared. Losing weight and being fit became the new fad. People started becoming obsessed with weight loss and diet companies began to boom. Weight loss supplements ranged from "magic bullets" to subtle weight- loss aids.
     After 5 decades, the weight loss industry continues to grow rapidly (Provenzano, 2010). Supplements can be purchased online or in supermarkets. They are everywhere! You can even get supplements without a prescription. The diet industry made it easy and cheap to get their products. There is also a rise in herbal products, like Herbalife, that contain natural fat burners. Energy boosters and appetite suppressants have also made their own mark in the weight loss frenzy. Energy boosters, like 5 Hour Energy for example, help people gain energy to go work out and not be lazy. In actuality, they are usually just a high dose of caffeine that over stimulates the person drinking them.    
     I know a lot of people personally that have tried many different diets from Atkins to Slim Fast to Medifast. They may not all have the same effects or results as people want, but they all have the same general purpose. Get thin as fast and as easily as possible. People are getting lazier and lazier and depend on diet supplements and unhealthy diet fads to lose weight instead doing it in a more natural way. Many don't stop to think about how long it took to gain the weight and what behaviors caused it. We live in a society where people dream of being skinny and will do almost anything to get just that even if it's harmful to them.





Provenzano, J. (2010, June 11). The growth of the weight loss manufacturing industry. Retrieved from http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/articles/2010/06/the-growth-of-the-weight-loss-manufacturing-industry.aspx