Welcome to Straight Talk on Health. I’m your host Dr. Chet Zelasko. Straight Talk on Health is a joint production with WGVU in Grand Rapids MI. I examine the world of health. Nutrition. Exercise. Diet. Supplementation. If there’s something new, I look at the science behind them, and let you know whether it’s real or not. You can check out other things that I do on my website Drchet.com and sign up for my free emails.
The weight loss industry has always been full of people who pitch the unusual to help people lose weight. I can remember a woman who pitched a breathing program—I’m not kidding—to help people lose weight. It was all about how you breathe, that was important. But with Americans getting fatter and fatter, the obesity epidemic is inviting to all sorts of lunacy.
In this podcast, I’m going to cover recent ads and commentaries on obesity and weight loss. Let’s begin with a Facebook ad my daughter-in-law sent my wife Paula recently.
Paula got a text from Kerri that showed the benefits of Magna Germanium earrings. They will activate your lymphatic system, drain away toxins, detox your body and allow you to lose weight naturally. I had to check it out—after all, it was FDA approved!
Just a bunch of testimonials. No science even though the ad referred to it. Claimed to be made in an FDA-approved facility. There is no such classification. Pure scam but reasonably priced: just $22.97 a pair in the ad I reviewed. I don’t think I have to say anything else.
Next up are those incessant internet ads for Keto-ACV gummies. Keto stands for ketogenic and ACV stands for apple cider vinegar if you didn’t know. You could lose 50 pounds in one month! All it takes is just one gummy a day. No doubt the before and after pictures and tik-toks are real. Just not for any type of weight loss gummy and not in just one month. And the ones featuring Kelly Clarkson “ads” for Keto-ACV Gummies? Worst artificial intelligence effort I’ve seen so far. That’s an easy No way on those.
Let’s move from the ridiculous to the seemingly sane. What happens when you mix social media with certified expert influencers such as dieticians and throw in a dash of the food industry paying or sponsoring food influencers, put together with the message that dieting is wrong? You get up to 40% of the social media influencers saying “why diet?” “Love yourself and eat whatever you want”—especially cereals or other highly sweetened grain products. You get partial truths that demeans the original concepts of loving yourself and ends up with people confused and, in some cases, fatter than they have ever been.
Welcome to a new reality. I think we expect that people who talk about health will have a point of view. Some people believe that being a vegan is the only way to eat while others believe that a ketogenic diet is the absolute best. Both can selectively use research to support their opinion—and do. That seems normal because everyone should have a point of view.
But what if the organic farming association was paying the vegan supporter to promote a vegan diet? How about the beef producers paying the ketogenic diet promoter to favor not only meat but especially beef? That association has to be reported in any scientific study about specific diets but until recently, it wasn’t mandated for an influencer.
What about nutritionists and registered dieticians that are supported in part by the food industry? Could they take that too far?
This topic came from an article co-written by writers from The Examination and the Washington Post. The “expose” was that credentialed nutritionists and Registered Dieticians (RD) were accepting sponsorships and payments from the food industry, especially the cereal industry. The “angle” was that the influencers were using the anti-diet movement to promote the consumption of cereals. Not just granola and oatmeal but every type of sugar-laden cereal.
I don’t watch Tik-Tok videos. I don’t have a Tik-Tok account. But to be fair, I did use the hashtag #DerailTheShame. I saw some of the videos that were mentioned in the article. In that it was a couple weeks after the article posted, there were responses from some RDs that typically use Tik-Tok, about the article. To say they were upset was an understatement. But in the responses, no one addressed the real issues in the Tik-Toks and the article. So I will
The writers who collaborated on the article were all investigative journalists with a lot of experience. However, none had a nutrition background. How do you know what’s good or bad from a nutritional perspective? This happens a lot in non-scientific journalism.
Some of the RDs certainly made it seem like they were promoting the sugar-laden cereals only. That’s the problem with using short videos. You don’t get to address the issue completely and you have to sell yourself more than anything else—at least that’s the way it would appear.
On the other hand, the RDs were using elements of “fat shaming is bad” together with eating all foods ad lib. Fat shaming IS bad and should never happen but eating as much processed food as you want isn’t a good solution.
At least one of the authors of the article wrote about Big Food and their sponsorships of RDs. The results were new laws that legislate compensation must be revealed when it comes to such influencers. That’s a huge plus.
On the other hand, I didn’t find any criticism of Big Food by the RDs. Big Food opposes new and plainly written food labels to reveal exactly what’s in processed foods. Why banish it to the small print on the back or more likely having to go online to find ingredients? Marketing with clever sounding names only go so far. Everyone should know exactly what they’re eating because it should be on the label.
Here are some Partial Solutions - I think the article writers should have spent more time on the Big Food angle rather than the influencers, credentialed or not. Health insurance companies will not pay for nutritional counseling for obesity to any great degree. One of the results is that nutrition professionals have to be able to earn a living and sponsorships can help them do that.
As for the credentialed influencers? With all the mind-numbing music, graphics, and dancing around kitchens, posting the serving size and calories from the cereal (or whatever food is being promoted) and emphasizing sticking to reasonable portions per day seems appropriate. That solves the issue in my mind. I’m definitely not opposed to earning a living. But that comes with a responsibility.
While cereals and any processed food has their place in a healthy diet, they should be eaten in the proper serving size and number of servings per day. I am opposed to the anti-diet sentiment. The only way to lose weight and maintain it is to eat less, eat better, and move more. Everyone has to figure out for themselves how to do that and it won’t be the same for everyone. But it is the only way to solve the obesity epidemic we face. That’s a little insight into the ridiculous and semi-sane approach to weight loss.
I’m out of time. This is Dr. Chet Zelasko saying health is a choice. Choose wisely today and every day
Reference: 04-03-24. Washington Post. As Obesity Rises, Big Food and Dietitians Push ‘Anti-Diet’ Advice.
