Health

Doctors call for Weight Loss Industry Regulation

by Blue Crush | February 18, 2009 at 09:49 am

475 views | 34 Recommendations | 5 comments

Governments should be regulating the diet industry, to help keep Canadians from falling prey to all the misleading claims of fad dieting, says this week's Canadian Medical Assiciation Journal.

"Although experts agree that obesity management requires long-term behavioural, medical or surgical intervention, the majority of commercial weight-loss providers manipulate vulnerable consumers with impunity, cultivating unrealistic expectations and false beliefs."

North Americans spend $50 billion a year on pills, potions, diets and programs promising nothing short of miraculous weight loss. "Before we can truly address the devastating obesity epidemic, we must first stem the centuries-old flow of snake oil," the editorial authors wrote.

"We call on governments to require formal accreditation of weight-loss providers to ensure quality and to provide consumers with an easily recognizable means of identifying evidence-based services."

Lead authors of the editorial are Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director and co-owner of a weight-management clinic in Ottawa, and Dr. Arya Sharma, professor and chair of obesity research and management at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and medical director of a weight-management program.

Neither public health agencies nor the medical community are doing enough to solve the problem of obesity. Those suffering with obesity are often desperate for solutions and hence prone to exploitation. It's time we put an end to this nonsense.

Watch Dr. Sharma's interview on CTV. He recommends reading the Systematic Review: An Evaluation of commercial weight-loss programs in the US, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by Tsai and Wadden from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2005.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Amy Judd

at 10:49 on February 18th, 2009

I just love these ads that say 'lose weight without diet or exercise' - I mean, come on!

eastvanray

at 15:07 on February 18th, 2009

This is entirely possible and there are several suppliments that will easily accomplish this goal. Meth, crack, heroin...ever seen an obese junkie? Didn't "The Medical Community" prescribe amphetimines to housewifes in the 60's? Maybe we need more solutions from them?

Roy C

at 11:41 on February 18th, 2009

The problem is that the medical profession suffers from its attachment to its own vanity and pride in its view of its own orthodoxy and they simply won't allow, when they can, the public to hear from different sides of nutritional and scientific controversies.

Right now I am testing Irvingia on myself. It is an African mango extract. One of the foremost diet experts in the world discovered this when he noticed that one particular group in the African country that included pastes of this mango in their soups almost never suffered from diabetes and obesity.

Drug companies would just mess with this molecule and make it into something patentable and charge you an arm and a leg for it as the MD profession has done taking the natural statin found in red rice and making expensive drugs out of it.

More later.

Wina Van Dijk

at 12:08 on February 18th, 2009

'lose weight without diet or exercise'..........hhhmmm, Often my clients want with the same way, but not for all peoples.

I thought, The programme diet from many options should be supporting, the important key are motivation, healthy food and life style in personal for starting to get the best result (1:10). My Client successfull from Lose weight (shape and slim) after agree with then. The next steps maintenance with healthy life style byself.

So far, In Asia/Indonesia (where is, I am living and working) for Slimming Programme is number one and booming every years with many problems over weight, many character's client, and the best target client for lose weight with many solutions. I am learning and riset for them.

Paschen

at 16:22 on February 18th, 2009

I am not sure about all this, I think 90% is in once head and will. No Doctor nor any Drug or exercise can and will help if the mind is not set to do it all.