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Mar. 14th, 2004
The diet industry, collectively, are Ferengi. For those not automatically grokking this, it's a Star Trek reference: the Ferengi are a society of profit-driven aliens, who do not give a flying fuck about ethics, kindness, or the well-being of others as long as doing what they are doing will turn them a profit or gain them other advantage. Discworld fans, note CMOT Dibbler.
Greater awareness of health issues and how to gain and maintain a healthy, smoothly-working body are good things. The diet industry is not really after that. The diet industry is focused on selling people on the idea that they should be dissatisfied with their bodies as they are, and the idea that only (their specific) $PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE can effectively change the cause of the dissatisfaction.
One of the many toxic things about the diet industry that I very much dislike is their collective addiction to drastic measures. ( Read more... )
Greater awareness of health issues and how to gain and maintain a healthy, smoothly-working body are good things. The diet industry is not really after that. The diet industry is focused on selling people on the idea that they should be dissatisfied with their bodies as they are, and the idea that only (their specific) $PRODUCT_OR_SERVICE can effectively change the cause of the dissatisfaction.
One of the many toxic things about the diet industry that I very much dislike is their collective addiction to drastic measures. ( Read more... )