Performing a search on the word "Dieting" on the Excite search engine site will return approximately 2.3 million site matches; the same word on the Yahoo site will result in roughly sixty-six thousand results; Alta Vista will provide you access to over one hundred and forty-seven web page matches. Some of the results are from around the world but the overwhelming majority are provided by and directed towards the American public. There seems to be a lot of information on the subject of dieting but do we need to diet; more and more people are turning to the diet of the week as the answer to being overweight. It's like putting a seatbelt on after a car accident. Americans are overweight and this is an issue that needs to be addressed. However, fad dieting can be a dangerous and only offers a short-term solution. The true solution can be found through education, lifestyle changes and a desire to change.
Nutrition education in the U.S. has been greatly developed in the past fifty years. Science has been able to provide us with information as to what our bodies require on a daily basis. Any item on the supermarket shelves provide us information for recommended intake on things such as calories, vitamins, minerals, fat, and carbohydrates. Nutritional clinics are available for any person interested in learning about understanding their bodies needs. Despite all the information available, Americans know very little about nutrition and continue to turn to dieting when their weight gets out of control. If people were more educated on proper nutrition, they would not need to consider crash dieting.
The daily activity that Americans participate in on a day to day basis is a contributing factor to the growing weight problem that we face. As a result of technological advances, Americans are required to expend less energy in daily activities. Most own vehicles and rarely have to walk less than a city block at one time.