In 2006, CBS News reported that Americans spend $35 billion a year on weight loss products and programs. $35 billion. That's no small number, and it means that we are a really overweight people, or we're completely obsessed with our appearance, or both.
It kind of makes me wonder: if I'm in the business of weight loss, why would I want people to lose weight? If everyone loses weight, I'm out of a job. No more diet plans. No more weight training books. No more Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers. No more low-carb, low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar, non-fat, programs (fads) for people to follow.
Consider the effect the popularity of the Atkins diet had on meat prices earlier this decade. The price of beef, in particular, went through the roof. Is it possible that Dr. Atkins and representatives from the beef, pork and chicken industries colluded to come up with a diet that would boost the profits of meat producers? Unlikely, but it's possible. And what about all those snack producers (Frito-Lay, Keebler, etc.) working against Oprah to make her ride a perpetual weigh loss/gain roller coaster? I think I smell a conspiracy. Or maybe that's just the overpriced steaks I have on the grill.
January is a huge weight loss month because of New Years resolutions. Any retailer who has any products to sell put's it right in your face as soon as you walk in the store. I was in Costco the days after Christmas and they had moved all their exercise equipment from the back of the store to the front. We also have our table in the front of the store of diet books right when you walk in the front door. It's a required display. The weight loss industry remains lucrative because of people's inability to keep the weight off permanently. Oprah is the perfect example. I have little desire to restrict myself from eating foods that I love for long periods of time. It took it took me about a year to lose a satisfactory amount of weight and swore I'd never gain it back. A year and a half later, the weight is back on! It sucks. I wish food tasted like cardboard sometimes. Things would be a lot easier. I don't know the meaning of self control or moderation.
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