Top Internet Dieting Resources

Dieting is a principal health topic in the U.S. and rightfully so. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, almost two thirds of American adults (age 20 years and older) qualify as overweight. That's slightly over 127 million people, sixty million of whom qualify as obese, or seriously overweight. It's a major problem for our population - and therefore, naturally, a major topic on the Internet.

There are dozens of sites that are more or less informative on the issues of weight loss and dieting and dozens more that pitch one diet program or another, or provide commercial content on several diets. There's lots of money being devoted to web advertising to steer you to one diet or another, many of which have become names familiar in most households.

Of the informative sources, perhaps the most thorough on the issue of weight is the American Obesity Association (www.aoa.org) which treats the affliction as a disease and has extensive educational material available. Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) does an excellent job discussing the basics of dieting. Their material addresses types of diets (as opposed to brands); the relationship of exercise and dieting; how calories are counted and how they work; and some of the dangers inherent in misguided attempts at dieting.

Diets are also the core of a major American industry. Millions are spent annually on specialty diet programs - on books, prepared food programs, and hands-on therapy that involve both diet and exercise. If you're looking for an analysis of the online resources for dieting, there's a fairly extensive body of material at www.freedieting.com. The title itself illustrates the mercenary nature of most diet web sites; however it's a place to start if you want to learn about the more popular online diet programs.

Freedieting.com provides recommendations on programs, rankings based on popularity, and lots of content on the ancillary items such as workout plans and calorie counters. It is unclear, however, what criteria their recommendations are based on: it could be advertising, or it could be truly objective analysis. Given the title of the site, it may be a combination of the two.

An openly commercial site that provides comparisons of fourteen online diet programs can be found at http://www.diet-plan-offers.com. While it's clear that the programs found there paid for positioning, it provides you with an opportunity for some quick comparisons of diet program models.

In November the Department of Health and Human Services in conjunction with the FDA, announced two online tools to assist consumers in dieting. The tools are Make Your Calories Count, a Web-based learning program, and a new Nutrition Facts Label brochure. These tools combine an online diet program with a detailed explanation of how to use the nutritional facts posted on every food item sold publicly. It is the government's attempt at countering the rising tide of obesity in this country and it is possibly the only truly cost-free program you'll find online. You can find the details at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01508.html.

For an overall look at the health issues and diet programs, there is a good list of specific sites found at http://www.medsurfer.com/library/diet.htm. This page contains a list of web sites that are mostly products of government agencies or non-profit organizations. The sites address particular issues such as types of fats; nutrition guides and includes archival resources on dietary management.

There is a vast amount of information online about nutrition and dieting. There are also vast numbers of online diet programs, of various designs, that are paid services. If you are interested in an online diet and exercise program, choosing among them is the second biggest challenge you will face. The number one challenge, of course, will be mustering up the discipline to follow it.

Is Subway Better Than McDonald's?
Subway have taken aim at McDonald's with their new "Fresh Fit" meals. The combo meals are compared side-by-side against a Big Mac meal. Subway's meal comes out at 265 calories, while the Big Mac meal hits a gluttonous 1230 calories. But there's more to it than that......

As Obesity In Children Increases, The Incidence Of Fatty Liver Disease Rises
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers are taking a closer look at a disease whose incidence is rising as obesity in children increases. Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis, more popularly known as Fatty Liver Disease, occurs in approximately 15% of obese children. Fatty Liver Disease, in which fat accumulates in the liver, while not life threatening in children, can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, sometimes requiring transplantation by adulthood. [click link for full article]

How to Display a Picture in Your Comments
I've finally enabled avatars / pictures for commenters. Here's how you do it. Go to a site called Gravatar. Follow the instructions by entering your email (make sure it is the same email address that you use for your diet-blog.com comments!). Once registered you can upload a picture. From then on your picture will display next to your comment (see...

Red Pepper: Hot Stuff For Fighting Fat?
Food scientists in Taiwan are reporting new evidence from laboratory experiments that capsaicin - the natural compound that gives red pepper that spicy hot kick - can reduce the growth of fat cells. The study is scheduled for the March 21 issue of the ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. [click link for full article]

Foods To Prevent Obesity?
This, surely, is the oxymoron of the year. Reuters reports that the "Dutch hope to invent foods that prevent obesity". That single sentence encompasses the arrogance, greed, and plain foolishness that exists in the minds of those who "invent" foods. "We are working on certain food ingredients, which provoke more satiety than others do on the long run, so that...

DVT Awareness Survey Findings For Respondents In High-Risk Groups: Obese Individuals
Up to two million Americans are affected each year by DVT, with up to 600,000 hospitalized. Its primary complication, pulmonary embolism (PE), claims up to 300,000 lives annually -- more than breast cancer and AIDS combined. The Coalition to Prevent Deep-Vein Thrombosis (DVT) recently sponsored an online survey of a nationally representative sample of consumers and physicians. [click link for full article]

Obesity At The Time Of Prostate-Cancer Diagnosis Dramatically Increases The Risk Of Dying From The Disease
Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The findings by senior author Alan Kristal, Dr.P.H., and colleagues appear online and will be published in the March 15 print edition of the journal Cancer. [click link for full article]

Be Inspired: Shannan's Story
Some people have it tough, and others have it very tough. Shannan Hutchinson is one of the latter. Shannan has Multiple Sclerosis - yet despite the phenomenal challenges posed by her illness, Shannan was able to lose over 90 pounds - by eating right and exercising. Here is her story....

News Roundup and Quick Links
The Carrot Diet A woman eats carrots every 15 minutes for 3 months in order to cure her infertility. The solution seemed to work as she became pregnant. A tabloid special Active kids say slim "Children who did 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise -- equivalent to a brisk walk -- were 50 percent less likely than inactive...