Should People Think Twice Before Dieting?

Should People think twice before dieting?

The article, "Why diets don't work...And what does" by Meg Selig appeared in Psychology Today on October 21, 2010. Selig, a writer for Psychology Today, is the author of "Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success". She earned her M.A Ed. in counseling at Washington University in St. Louis. In addition, she is teaching a class on "Habit Change" at St. Louis Community College in Florissant Valley. In this article, the issues being discussed are that she is against dieting for weight loss because certain diets can be harmful to the body's health. And how dieting does help people lose weight but only temporarily due to the fact that dieting is only a temporary food plan. She also states why she sometimes agrees with certain aspects of dieting for a healthier style of living. The intended audience for this article was for people entertaining the thought of dieting on whether they should or should not start a diet. Selig does an effective job supporting her statements by using strong ethos appeal, well researched evidence, and a display of out of the box thinking with her pathos appeal.

Selig begins her article by displaying ethos to her audience's thoughts and possible motives. She states she's totally against dieting for weight loss but completely understands the need for dieting medically. Due to the fact that there are people who are prescribed diets, such as the "Dash" diet, and diets to control diabetes which serve a as a healthy motivation. She believes in dieting when it's done the right way not for a quick fix to shed pounds and fit into your little black dress. Overall, she steps out of the box on her personal preference and looks at the opposition from both sides.

Her evidence consists of statistics, research, and examples. Statistically, Selig states that yes diets do work, but the definition of diet is a temporary food plan. Meaning about 95% of people who lose weight by dieting will regain that weight in 1-5 years. She informs people that diets, mostly fad diets, can be very harmful to the body's health. Due to the lack of knowledge they share on the essential nutrients the body needs and how to properly eat healthy. This in the long run will cause you to simply fall back into your old eating habits once you have completed the fad diet. And that is called yo-yo dieting which in its own can manifest new health problems. Overly restrictive diets completely take the pleasure and enjoyment out of eating which can sometimes cause unhappiness and stress. Selig tells the reader that not only can bad dieting be harmful to the body but to the pocket. Studies show that people who are less knowledgeable about diets and exercising can most often be swindled into buying a product that doesn't work and causes more harm than good to them. Companies love to say that if simultaneously