Weight Loss

Young, Overweight Fall Prey to

Weight-Loss Spam

They're more likely to respond to product pitches in e-mails, study shows.

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Jan. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Many computer users lunge for the delete key when they get unsolicited e-mails about weight-loss products. But some respond, and new research suggests that almost one in five young, overweight people have fallen prey to the hard sell that shows up in their spam.

"Believe it or not, a whole bunch of them not only read it, but actually buy these products, which can range from the potentially harmless to the potentially harmful," said study author Joshua Fogel, of Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. "I was shocked. I didn't expect so many people to be buying this stuff."

In May 2007, Fogel and a colleague surveyed 200 students from an undergraduate commuter college in New York City. They report their findings in the January issue of the Southern Medical Journal.

Eighty-eight percent of those with weight problems reported receiving spam that pitched weight-loss products or schemes, compared to 73 percent of other students. Fogel said this may be because the overweight students visit Web sites about weight loss and end up on marketing databases.

About 42 percent of overweight students said they'd opened the spam e-mails, and more than 18 percent said they'd bought products advertised in them. (The numbers were 18.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively, for the non-overweight students.)

Stress also seemed to play a role in boosting the risk that an overweight person would buy the products, said Fogel, who is an associate professor of behavioral sciences.

This makes sense to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietitian and author in New York City. "If a person is struggling with their weight, not feeling good about themselves and feeling overwhelmed, the promise of quick-fix weight loss can be very compelling," she said. "I've had clients buy products they know seem bogus because they think, 'What do I have to lose' or 'Who knows, maybe it'll work.'"

But there's plenty of risk. Weight-loss dietary supplements can be dangerous, Sass said. "Consumers should know that these products are not required to be proven safe or effective before they're released to the market and they may contain ingredients -- even natural ones -- that can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels, even in healthy, young adults, or cause other side effects such as heart palpitations," she explained.

Detoxification products can also spell trouble by causing suppressed immunity and a loss of muscle mass along with fatigue, irritability and mood swings, she said.

The next step, Fogel said, is to figure out what overweight people are buying from spam distributors and whether they're using the products regularly.

He suggested that doctors take time to ask overweight patients if they're buying weight-loss products. "If they say they don't buy it, that's fine, and you go on to the next question. If they do, you can ask, 'Can you share what you bought and why you bought it?'"

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Weight loss

Restricting Sugary Food May Lead to Overeating

Many people try to lose weight by periodically forbidding themselves from eating certain foods. But depriving yourself of tasty food can backfire, new research in rats suggests. It can activate the brain's stress system, causing anxiety and withdrawal-like symptoms, and leading you to overeat the forbidden foods when you get a chance.

Much of the research on overeating has focused on food's pleasurable effects, which scientists call positive reinforcement. A team of researchers led by Dr. Pietro Cottone and Dr. Valentina Sabino at the Boston University School of Medicine and Dr. Eric Zorrilla at the Scripps Research Institute wanted to explore the role of negative reinforcement. That's the idea that the stress of not having certain foods might drive dieters to overeat those foods once they become available.

The researchers recently found that rats given intermittent access to sugary food ate less of their normal food when the sweet food wasn't available, and they overate the sweet food when it was available again. The scientists hypothesized that the brain's stress system might be behind the behavior. Funded by several NIH institutes, along with the Ellison Medical Foundation and the Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research at Scripps, the team—which included NIH researcher Dr. Kenner C. Rice—set out to investigate.

The scientists tested a drug that blocks the action of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), a signaling molecule involved in the brain's response to fear, anxiety and stress. CRF has been tied to withdrawal syndromes for every major drug of abuse, including alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines and marijuana.

The team divided 20 rats into 2 groups. One group was fed alternating diets of 5 days of regular chow and 2 days of sweet chow. The other was given only regular food. All rats could eat as much as they wanted. After 7 weeks, the rats were given the CRF-blocker.

The researchers reported on November 24, 2009, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that blocking CRF blunted the rats' bingeing. The diet-cycled rats ate more of the regular chow and less of the sweet food when it was available. The drug had no effect on the rats eating only normal chow. The drug also blocked the diet-cycled rats' anxious behavior when their sweet food was withdrawn, without affecting control rats.

To explore where CRF was at work, the team measured CRF levels in the central amygdala, a brain area involved in fear, anxiety and stress responses. Diet-cycled rats had significantly higher CRF levels when eating normal chow. Their levels were normal when the rats were fed sweet food. These results show that withdrawal from tasty food, at least in rats, leads to an increase in stress.

"People will often say they are eating bad foods or fail a diet because they're stressed," Zorrilla says. "Our findings suggest that intermittently eating sweet food changes the brain's stress system so that you might feel stressed…In other words, you might be self-medicating stress-like symptoms of abstinence with that piece of pie."

"The findings suggest that frequent dieting with frequent relapse is worse than dieting by itself," Cottone says. On and off, yo-yo dieting may actually be a risky habit.

—by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.

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Weight loss

Weight Loss Tips That Offer

Long Term Success

by Daniel Manson

in Health (submitted 2009-12-10)

2

votes

vote

From fast weight loss pills to fat flushing fluids, simple single rules to ancient secrets, the internet is littered with so-called facts regarding the best methods for shedding massive pounds and building rippling muscles within weeks, all without having to break a sweat for more than an hour each week.

While quick weight loss is possible, the process can be very damaging to the body and the effects are often short lived. Most miracle diets are nothing more than diuretics that cause the individual to release any retained water, showing remarkable results of 10 to 20lbs. of weight loss within a few weeks. Unfortunately, most of these diets severely limit nutrient intake, often reducing calorie intake to fluids or pills.

Assuming the dieter has begun an exercise regiment, the lack of proteins causes the body to feed on muscle tissue; meanwhile, the shock of jumping from high to low calorie diets places the body in starvation mode, causing it to retain as much fat as possible while further damaging muscles and bones.

Additionally, because the dieter never learned proper nutritional habits, as soon as they leave the quick diet plan, they find themselves rebounding to their original weight in roughly the same amount of time it took to lose it. This does not mean that losing weight is a lost battle, only that the method of attack needs to be a lifelong endeavor, which is good, as this endeavor will help to prolong one's life.

Of all the weight loss tips available on the internet, two core rules are necessary to follow: be careful of the food consumed, and exercise. Every other rule, guideline, and secret is merely a subcategory of these rules, or a fad diet intended to rob people of their hard-earned money. While most people dislike the notion of limiting the foods they enjoy, or scheduling time for the sole purpose of sweating, nutrition and exercise go hand-in-hand, and both are required for long-term success.

Unfortunately, some people who, even with diet and exercise, still find they are not losing enough weight to become healthy. Using fast weight loss pills can help individuals who have a history of failure reach their targeted goal. However, using diet pills is not some miracle cure to end obesity, as diet and exercise are still requirements, and strict doctor advisement due to the potentially harmful side effects.

John L. Carlson has had a history of weight problems and has spent years working with physicians and personal trainers, gaining valuable weight loss tips, and gaining understand of the core requirements of the human body. After much research and a few misguided failures, Mr. Carlson has lost 50 lbs of pure fat, and has helped countless others to reach their long-term weight loss goals. Although he recommends that any individual looking to lose weight should start with a visit to a personal physician and a regimented diet and exercise plan, he understands the necessities of using fast weight loss pills, though only with the specialized guidance of a doctor.

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Weight loss

Reaching Weight Loss Goals With

The Assistance Of Diet Pills

by Daniel Manson

in Health (submitted 2009-12-10)

2

votes

vote

Obesity plagues most of the civilized world, and yet there is little public consensus on the best method for weight loss. While it seems common knowledge that diet and exercise are key elements, many people have become enamored with miracle cures that promise to reduce weight without excessive effort. These fad diets range from using diet pills with a mild workout and near standard meals, to starvation diets that remove all solid food expecting the dieter to live on liquid meals.

With all the hype surrounding false weight loss gimmicks, there is no wonder that individuals are confused about what it takes to lose weight permanently and worse, they do not know what is required to keep their body healthy. The simple truth is that long-term success is found when a person eats healthy, and sticks to a moderate to heavy workout schedule. This does not mean fasting or spending every night in a gym, but it does mean making lifestyle choices that are difficult to make.

Nutritionally, keeping to foods that have fewer additives, are mostly natural, and that have a low glycaemic index level will provide a safe start to any diet. Calorie counts, specific dietary needs, and specialized nutritional supplements should always be discussed with a physician to ensure no excess damage is being done to the body, and the diet is working in conjunction with any strength training. However, most individuals tend to lose weight at 1500 calories, maintain weight around 2000 calories, and need a certain amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates to successfully maintain muscle and bone mass.

As for exercise, while walking on a treadmill for 30 min at a brisk pace can help burn calories, it is not enough to continue burning fat while sitting in an office chair. As much as it pains people to hear, an exercise should bring up the heart rate, produce large quantities of sweat, and feel tiring. Building muscle increases metabolic rates that allows for burning extra calories during down times while also helping to handle those larger holiday dinners.

When combined with cardio workouts to improve circulatory and respiratory systems, strength training is the true long-term fat burner. While most will find that weight loss is easy with the correct mentality, some people will find a need to Buy Slimming Pills to assist in reaching weight goals. However, diet pills are a tool to be used in conjunction with proper workout and diet, not a replacement for them.

Having struggled with obesity for most of his adult life, John L. Carlson has change his life, and the lives of others, by taking the time to learn proper weight loss techniques from physicians and personal trainers. As with any life altering changes, a physician should be consulted prior to the purchase of Diet Pills, any dietary changes, or the start of a strenuous workout regimen. For individuals who Buy Diet Pills Online, special care should be taken regarding the claims and quality of the merchandise and vendor.

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Weight loss

Here's The REAL Reason

You Can't Lose Weight.

by Jason Clemens

in Health

(submitted 2009-11-30)

0

votes

vote

Can't lose weight?

Two words... thought process.

Yours is all WRONG! Completely backwards and inside-out.

It goes something like this... "Just give me the "magic pill" secret so I can quickly lose all my excess stomach fat".

STOP.

Did you catch it?

It's conditional. You actually believe you need a "secret" to quickly lose your excess fat. That somehow you're "missing something".

Guess what? IT IS KILLING YOUR RESULTS!

Causing you to keep making fool mistakes.

It's the REAL reason you can't lose weight.

Chances are at some point you were able to lose a few pounds by applying some simple things.

Why didn't you stick with it?

It's because of you're faulty belief that there is something you don't know. That there must be something "better".

You're like the miner who keeps getting three feet from gold only to start digging in a different location.

Your mindset has you "locked-in" a never ending search for the hidden keys to the weight loss vault. But They don't exist. You're looking for something that's NOT there. There are NO "hidden keys".

Just PROVEN techniques in plain site for everyone to see.

But you believe otherwise.

It's the reason you're confused. Why you keep "trying" so many different things.

You need to here this.

They don't exist.

All those secrets you keep looking for... they aren't there.

And if you keep jumping from one website to the next, allowing all the no-nothing, self proclaimed "experts" to fill your ears with their "magic pill" secrets you will continue to be disappointed.

I'm speaking from experience.

Three years of yo-yo dieting and other useless hassles.

I was so blinded by the magic pill mentality. On the one thing that would immediately cause all my flab to vanish. So every time I tried something that didn't show me results within two days... I would move on to the next. I couldn't see what was sitting right in front of my face.

That was until I learned the single greatest weight loss TRUTH.

CONSISTENCY.

Without it, YOU CAN'T LOSE WEIGHT... PERIOD!

Don't get me wrong...

Unless you do the right things you won't get results. Funny thing is, most are shocked to discover just how simple the "right" things are. Just how plain and basic they are. When they discover them they tend to fall back into the "search for the magic pill" trap.

They naively believe that weight loss is in the WHAT.

It's NOT.

The greatest results are produced with the how.

In other words... learning HOW to consistently apply what works and then having the guts to stick with it.

That's how you lose 10lbs... 15lbs... even 20lbs or more in just 30 days.

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