The truth hurts – and the media are arseholes…
08Sep. 09
We all know that Australia and the rest of the world are in a health crisis – due to the flood of weight related issues. Yet, within this fat-fighting society we are forgetting the hidden blade that hides underneath all of this media hype, a desperate need for justification and search for purpose. The weight/health marketing industry has boomed in the last 30 or so years, with the weight-loss industry hauling their might behind all forms of media.
This could be seen as a purely egalitarian action, for it is widely accepted that a requirement for good health is the maintenance of diet and exercise – yet within the media seems to be selecting only one message, which is to lose weight. This ham-fisted media propaganda has left many of the community doubting their way of life – even if they already were relatively healthy — and pushed them to losing weight.
An example of this is the “Lemon detox” diet (not really a ‘diet’, for it lacks sustenance), but is propagated on the mass press for the sole gain of the corporations which unethically support such schemes. Just look on the sidebar of any “Google” search, and you are bombarded by messages urging you to invest in packages to “Lose 30 pound in your sleep!” These messages are not helping the health of the general community, but fostering a hidden world of anorexia.
We all know that anorexia is a horrible mental and physical illness, and it is generally presumed to be a dominantly female ailment. Yet evidence suggests that males are just as affected – I know this because I previously this year was suffering from anorexia nervosa, which I am trying to recover from presently (I have become aware that, that period in my life has shortened my lifespan, and overall health).
We need to grow an awareness of this dangerous obsession and display active scepticism on the views of the media – yet this story is just one that shows that despite all efforts, not everybody is infallible, and we can all be hurt by a lack of ethics within the general press and society.
We live in a society obsessed with losing weight – the media has facilitated our desire, and now the messages are everywhere. It is only inevitable that someone else is going to get hurt…
Tags: anorexia, diets, Health, illness, lemon detox
September 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
It’s an unfortunate side effect of the fact the majority need to lose, although there’s still significant amounts who are perfect as well as under (as you were). The message to aim for a healthy weight isn’t as hard hitting and unfortunately a lot of it really does come down to marketing, who can make the biggest and best claims without going beyond the restrictions put on them by the governing bodies.
In the examples given on google and their advertising, that is mostly spam purveyors and other illegitimate companies who flood google with advertising at rates they can’t keep up with. Despite that, your point is still very real and accurate for the legitimate media and companies. Well said.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Brilliant post Keith. I went through this myself. It would be great if you could do more of these posts.