There are thousands of diet pills and supplements available to the public, yet over half of the American population is overweight or obese. The issue of obesity has been a health concern for America for quite some time now, however there is still a lot of misinformation regarding the issue.
Brandon Johnson, assistant manager of General Nutrition Centers (GNC), may have some of the answers to that.
“People are not losing the weight that they need to for three reasons: they are taking the wrong diet supplements, some are not eating enough while some are not eating the right foods and because of a lack of knowledge of the effective ways to lose weight,” Johnson said.
Many people get the terms “diet pill” and “diet supplement” confused.
While many believe the two are two different things, they actually do the same thing – the only thing is that diet supplements help enhance your body to help get you to where you need to be.
There are diet pills that are available to the public are healthy, and then there are the diet pills that are actually banned substances, though many may not know.
These banned substances that always seem to get into the hands of people can range anywhere from steroids to Viagra and diet supplements.
Certain medications that have not been tested enough for possible side effects carry a danger for the heart, liver and kidneys.
When it comes to eating, you have to first eat, and then eliminate the foods that are causing weight gain.
Not eating does not help individuals lose weight – it actually does the opposite.
“The food you have in you is stored, so if you only eat one meal out of the entire day, your body will continually feed off of that,” Johnson said, “You should eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and at the most three snacks in a total day.”
However, when it comes to the foods we eat, there are a few that are actually adding to our body weight: fried foods, sugars, sodas, liquors and whole milk and bread.
Eliminating these harmful foods from your daily meals as well as working out 45 minutes to an hour a day, or even two hours for an intense workout, helps eliminate the excess weight that so many people are struggling with on a day to day basis.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, between 2009 and 2010, almost 70 percent of Americans were overweight.
Out of this percentage, for women, the numbers rise even more.
For black women who are not Hispanic, obesity takes up about 82 percent.
Hispanic women take up 76 percent of those with obesity, and non-Hispanic white women take up 64 percent of overweight women.
When it comes to men, Hispanics take up about 82 percent, non-Hispanic white men take up 74 percent and black men take up 70 percent of men that are overweight.
However, obesity has not only affected adults, for the past 30 years it has affected children and teens ages two to 19 as well.
One out of six children up to age 19 are overweight.
However, for kids, it is an easier process for getting the excess weight off of their bodies.
According to Conner Stroop, sales associate for GNC, although diets are looked at in a negative view for some, they are good if done the right way, and the earlier the better.
“When you’re transitioning your body from fatty foods to healthy foods, it is best to do so gradually,” Stroop said, “Just like with a drug or alcohol addict, the body must slowly ease off of the impurities to learn how to function without it, or else the body goes into shock.”
Because of this, it is easier for kids to lose weight when obese than it is for adults because when younger, it is easier for the body to accept the change.
One big way for college students, especially busy ones, to lose weight is to cook healthy meals for the rest of the week or even two or three meals in one day.
This way, the students can get the cooking out of the way for the rest of the week and look forward to eating healthy when home.
Because children today are the future for tomorrow, it is imperative that they learn the importance of good health as early as possible.
Since children are active already, getting them out to walk or play for 30 minutes to an hour a day is a huge way to ensure healthiness for them.
“You should let your children know that their body is like a car and the food that they eat is like the fuel that helps it run,” Stroop said, “If you put bad food in it, it doesn’t run, whereas the healthy and right foods keeps the body running.”
