Want to lose weight? Well, then one thing you absolultely should NOT do is read articles about diet and weight loss. This is according to a new study from the University of Minnesota.
Huh? That doesn't make sense. Well, I did leave something out. This study talked about teenage girls reading about dieting and weight loss in magazine articles. To me, this is kind of the first step before going to the pro-ana and pro-mia sites which I have talked about before.
The AP article describes some of the results of the Univ of Minn. study:
It didn't seem to matter whether the girls were overweight when they started reading about weight loss, nor whether they considered their weight important. After taking those factors into account, researchers still found reading articles about dieting predicted later unhealthy weight loss behavior.I admit that I'm seeing this already in my office only a couple of days into the new year. Teenage girls asking about dietary tips. The study even points a finger at doctors offices...Girls in middle school who read dieting articles were twice as likely five years later to try to lose weight by fasting or smoking cigarettes, compared to girls who never read such articles. They were three times more likely to use measures such as vomiting or taking laxatives, the study found.
"Doctors' waiting rooms are no place for magazines promoting diet and weight loss," [Co-author Patricia van den Berg] said, "in the same way you don't have materials promoting smoking in waiting rooms."Usually, the most common complaint was have about our waiting room magazines is how old they are (meaning from 1-2 years ago). But, now I'll have to see what's out there. It's definitely a slippery slope. If I take out everything that is potentially objectionable to anyone, there will be no magazines left. Sheesh!