Obesity remains a serious health concern for the American populace. Statistics show that the prevalence of obesity in the United States (U.S) stands at 39.8% and 18.5% in adults and youths respectively (Hales et al., 2018). These figures are not only worrisome but have also compelled the government as well as individuals to seek ways of reversing the trend. O besity expose s the affected individuals to such health risks as high blood pressure, heart disease , cancer, and other lifestyle-related ailments ( Prat t & Brody , 2014; Masters et al., 2013; Moyer , 2012; Calle et al., 2003) . Notable approaches that have been embraced in a bid to address these issues include increased taxation of junk food to reduce consumption and weight management. The most popular weight management strategies include dieting and weight loss surgery. Consequently, a bout 45 million American s go on a diet annually (Boston Medical Center, n.d). While emphasis has been placed on such benefits of dieting as reduced risk of weight-related illnesses , reduced cost of healthcare and favorable body shape, dieting results in fatigue, mood change, irritability , food cravings , increased levels of cortisol, dehydration, slow metabolism , and electrolyte imbalance .
According to John s et al. (2014), dieting refers to the act of eating regulated amount and proportions of food with the goal of decreasing, maintaining or increasing weight. Of much concern is dieting to reduce weight. Majority of those on a diet are motivated by the need to improve their health or reduce the risks of suffering from obesity-related health problems. As a result , they adopt dieting as a weight management strategy. D octors recommend weight management as a way of reducing the risk of such ailments as heart disease, blood sugar, and pressure among others . Besides medical reasons, other people , especially girls , adopt dieting in a bid to gain and or maintain the ideal body shape.
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With the increased demand for dieting, many dietary products have been introduced into the market. Research shows that about 33 billion dollars are spent annually on weight loss products in the U.S (Boston Medical Center, n.d) . In 2017, sales revenue from dietary supplement s was about 297. 6 million dollars ( Zarychta et al. , 2018) . This confirms the increased adoption of dieting as a weight management strategy . S tatistics show that the majority of Americans use short-term weight loss plan s and buy the dietary products over-the-counter without proper guidance from an expert . Owing to this, complications are inevitable amongst such individuals.
During d ieting , the amount of food consumed is reduced considerably. This implies that the body is supplied with less fat , energy giving food s a s well as proteins (Johns et al. , 2014) . To adhere to the diet plans, some individuals use diet pills . These pills reduce their appetite and initiate burning of calories within the body. Likewise, s ome people starve themselves by reducing the number of meals taken per day to one or two. All these approaches result in the reduced supply of nutrient s in the body.
Health experts have emphasized on the benefits of weight loss. Key benefits highlighted include reduced risks of suffering from heart attack, blood pressure, and related health problem s . Another advantage is the reduc tion in the cost associated with managing the health issues that may arise owing to obesity. The third benefit is the fact that weight management help s individuals to regain their body shape (Abad i et al. , 2017) . Despite these benefits , adverse effects are likely mainly due to change of diets without proper guidance. For instance , an individual is expected to gradually reduce the amount of food or proportions and adjust to more nutritious food s over a given period. The recommended approach is also based on an individual’s body response and health condition . Dietary supplement s and pills are not considered reliable options for dieting. Nevertheless, a considerable number of individuals have embraced them with dire repercussions.
Dieting exposes one to various medical problems. The sudden reduction in nutrients and energy supply r esults in fatigue, mood change, irritability and food cravings (Abadi et al., 2017) . The e xcessive consumption of a d iet that lacks protein exposes one to the risks of increased levels of cortisol, which is a stress hormone. O ther impacts include dehydration, slow metabolism , and electrolyte imbalance , which is a life-threatening risk. This, therefore, implies that an individual is likely to suffer from other health problems as a result of dieting. The supplement and pills are manufactured using chemical s and other ingredients that may negatively affect the body systems either directly or indirectly. Thus, dieting using such options implies that one is shift ing expos ure from one risk to another.
Consuming adequate food ensures that one is active and motivated to undertake the activities of the day. Side effects of dieting include slow ed body metabolism thus making one sluggish in his or her actions. Sluggishness can also be due to fatigue (Zarychta et al. , 2018) . When p eople are unmotivated , their productivity declines (Pagoto et al., 2009) . The human body requires nutrients in the right quantity to function effectively. A s udden change in these quantities negatively affects the body lead ing to psychological and mental problems. These short-term health problems are likely to cause long-term health conditions, thus exposing one to more health risk s . It is therefore vital for individuals to take into consideration both the present and future risks before embarking on dieting.
In conclusion, dieting has adverse medical and psychological effects on individuals. This is especially the case for obese people who seek quick ways of manag ing their weight without seeking proper guidance from health experts. Excessive and unguided consumption of dietary supplement s and pills exposes one to various health risks. T herefore , individuals should adopt long-term weight management plan s which allow their bodies to gradually adjust to r educed amount s of food and proportion s without increased health risks . Equally, they should not over ly r ely on the dietary products sold over the counter . Instead, they should consider consuming a healthy and balanced diet that has a high nutriti ve value as recommended by a nutritionist.
References
Abadi, H. A. Y., Mirzaei, B., Habibi, H., & Barbas, I. (2017). Prevalence of rapid weight loss and its effects on elite cadet wrestlers participated in the final stage of national championships. International Journal of Sport Studies for Health , (In Press).
Boston Medical Center (n.d). Weight management. Retrieved from https://www.bmc.org/nutrition-and-weight-management/weight-management
Calle, E. E., Rodriguez, C., Walker-Thurmond, K., & Thun, M. J. (2003). Overweight, obesity, and mortality from cancer in a prospectively studied cohort of US adults. New England Journal of Medicine , 348 (17), 1625-1638.
Hales, C. M., Carroll, M. D., Fryar, C. D., & Ogden, C. L. (2017). Prevalence of obesity among adults and youth: United States, 2015-2016 . US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.
Johns, D. J., Hartmann-Boyce, J., Jebb, S. A., Aveyard, P., & Group, B. W. M. R. (2014). Diet or exercise interventions vs combined behavioral weight management programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis of direct comparisons. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics , 114 (10), 1557-1568.
Masters, R. K., Reither, E. N., Powers, D. A., Yang, Y. C., Burger, A. E., & Link, B. G. (2013). The impact of obesity on US mortality levels: the importance of age and cohort factors in population estimates. American journal of public health , 103 (10), 1895-1901.
Moyer, V. A. (2012). Screening for and management of obesity in adults: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Annals of internal medicine , 157 (5), 373-378.
Pagoto, S. L., Curtin, C., Lemon, S. C., Bandini, L. G., Schneider, K. L., Bodenlos, J. S., & Ma, Y. (2009). Association between adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and obesity in the US population. Obesity , 17 (3), 539-544.
Pratt, L. A., & Brody, D. J. (2014). Depression and obesity in the US adult household population, 2005–2010. Women , 20 , 39.
Zarychta, K., Chan, C. K., Kruk, M., & Luszczynska, A. (2018). Body satisfaction and body weight in under-and healthy-weight adolescents: mediating effects of restrictive dieting, healthy and unhealthy food intake. Eating and Weight Disorders-Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity , 1-10.
