Tuesday, March 13, 2012

"Study: Most wight loss supplements are not effective"


The article "Study: Most wight loss supplements are not effective," by an Oregon State researcher, discussed weight loss and how supplements are, on the whole, ineffective. The article explains how there is no real evidence that an individual supplement can have drastic effects on weight loss. Weight loss supplements is a $2.4 billion industry in the United States that ultimately has no positive effects on health in the United States. In fact, the article explains that some weight loss pills have extremely negative side effects, ranging from "bloating and gas, to very serious issues such as strokes and heart problems."  Melinda Manore says that dietary supplements such as green tea, fiber and low-fat dairy products can help to reduce a persons weight, however without daily exercise it is impossible to loose weight. She states, "I don't know how you eliminate exercise from the equation. The data is very strong that exercise is crucial to not only losing weight and preserving muscle mass, but keeping weight off." In the end, the article says that in addition to daily exercise, eating whole grains, fruit, vegetables and lean meats is the key to weight loss. Furthermore, the article lists many suggestions for a healthier diet. For example, the article says to eat foods that "physically take up more space." For instance, eating 100 calories of grapes instead of 100 calories of raisins will make you feel more satisfied. Having solutions to the problems which the article talked about really made this a well rounded article.
This article is very relevant to the health problems that our society is facing today. The percent of people, both children and adults, in the United States who are obese is growing rapidly. Obesity and health is an enormous problem today and people want solutions. This article disproves a "myth" in a way. It educates people on the truth about dietary supplements and weight loss. More articles like this one are needed to educate the public on health and wellness. The more information the public has, the more likely they are to make more informed and intelligent decisions about their diets and overall health.
This article was informative, interesting and  easy to read. The article starts out with an explanation of the problem it will discuss and clearly and concisely explains common misconceptions and why those misconceptions are wrong. This sequencing was logical and organized which made reading the article much easier. As a result of the logical organizing and the smooth transition between topics the article flowed well. In addition, I really liked how there was a section at the very end of the article which listed different methods and tricks for staying healthy and losing weight. One thing that i didn't like about this article was that it didn't explain the science behind dietary supplements. It didn't go into any detail about why supplements don't work. It also would have be interesting to read about the chemical processes of the metabolism and why it is so difficult to stay healthy and maintain a good body weight.

Oregon State University. "Study: Most Weight Loss Supplements Are Not Effective." Biology News Net. Oregon State University, 6 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. <http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/03/06/study_most_weight_loss_supplements_are_not_effective.html>.

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/03/06/study_most_weight_loss_supplements_are_not_effective.html


2 comments:

  1. There were several things in this review that I thought were particularly well presented. I thought that Emma did a very good job summarizing the article. Her review gave me a good idea of the point of the article. I also thought that Emma did a good job relating this article to the real world. This article is important because weight loss is such a huge industry in the United States. Emma did a good job voicing her opinion on the issue and the article itself.
    Emma could have made her review better by shortening her summary of the article. Also, she could have stated how the ineffectiveness of diet pills has affected her or her peers.
    One thing that impressed me is that diet pills are so ineffective, yet the diet industry in the U.S. is so huge. I think that people should stop wasting their money on ineffective pills and spend them on something more important and valuable for them.

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  2. Emma did a fabulous job reviewing this article. One thing Emma did a great job on was explaining the research and how these diet supplements are ineffective. Emma also did a great job relating this article back to reality and the people of the United States. Emma used easy and concise language to summarize this article, which made it easy to follow and understand.
    One thing Emma could do to improve this review would be to further discuss the experiments performed to reach this conclusion. I would have also suggested that she shorten the summary a little.
    I was astounded at how much money is spent on dietary supplements in the United States. I also really liked how Emma related this article to everyday life.

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