Dieting not a priority for most people
May 15th, 2005 by NancyAccording to the Detroit News, people aren’t so concerned with ending poor eating habits, “despite facing chronic diseases.”
With all the news about obesity and how it increases the likelihood of developing a chronic disease, it’s easy to assume people are concerned about their own risk factors and motivated to lose weight. That’s not so, says Laurie Demeritt, a trend tracker who is president and COO of the Hartman Group in Bellevue, Wash.
Through her quantitative survey of 5,000 adults nationally, Demeritt has some surprising insights into dieters’ thinking. Although the majority of people she surveyed say they want to lose weight, and many actually go on a diet for a short time, dieting isn’t a priority.
Nor are people concerned about their immediate likelihood of developing diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure or other diseases related to overweight, Demeritt says.
“People will take away diet bits and pieces of information. For example, they may skip bread at a restaurant. But that doesn’t mean they’ll avoid bread altogether,” she says.
The best source for weight loss inspiration comes from a social network. If a friend is on a diet and successfully dropping pounds, you’re more apt to try it. However, if everyone around you is overweight, you’re less likely to feel a need to change, Demeritt notes.
The article also mentioned that chronic diseases are striking people at younger ages, and that severe diets (vomiting, laxative abuse, etc.) tended to lead to “more weight gain than loss.”
