High Risk Dieting

By Rachel Stockton rachels at foodconsumer dot org

The death several days ago of a young, British woman on the LighterLIfe Diet raises so many questions and red flags that several articles could be written on each one of them.  From the ridicule those who are obese have to endure, to the promises of lose-it-all-now dieting gimmicks, there are plenty of reasons why her death was so tragic.

At the inquest, Samantha Clowe’s mother, Barbara, stated that her daughter didn’t want to be a “fat bride,” and that she wanted to lose weight in order to garner respect at work.

Those of us who are overweight are asking our bodies to do something that they weren’t designed to do when we go on extreme diets, and that is to rapidly flush out the fat in our systems as quickly as we can.  This hardly seems fair; after all, for most people, it took a number of years to pack on the pounds.  And while we are used to getting what we want in short shrift, there are some laws and principles that simply will not bend to our demands without consequences. Two women invented the diet, and honestly, it doesn’t seem as extreme as some of the crazier fads out there.

The plan was based on the idea of using food packs that are given to those in emergency situations to stay alive, which turns out to be only 500 calories.  However, the diets proponents adamantly advise their patients to get a go-ahead from their physicians before starting such a rigorous dietary regimen, which Samantha herself had done.

But the extreme restriction of the diet is startling.  Even those who support a lower calorie lifestyle as a healthier alternative maintain that a woman not eat less than 1200 calories per day, which is more than twice as many as Clowe was consuming.

However, obesity itself is hard on the heart; can one really determine that the low calorie diet killed her, rather than some other heart ailment or illness brought on by Clowe’s obesity?  Probably not.

Several years ago, when Fen Phen diet pills were  on the market, physicians and patients alike made the argument that taking the drug off the market because of certain instances of heart problems made no sense, since an obese person’s health has already been dramatically compromised.

 Laura K., a woman from the Midwest who used Fen Phen and lost 60 pounds says she would use it again, in a heartbeat, despite the fact that she did suffer from heart problems after she stopped taking the drug.  “I believe that the drug caused the problem; overeating for the first 4 decades of my life hurt my heart alot more.”  Because of this belief, Laura does not intend to join any class action suits brought against the makers of the drug.

Certainly, there’s room for debate on both sides of the issue; each individual patient must decide, with the help of a physician, the best way to approach weight loss.   The ultimate goal of weight loss should be a healthier life; taking part in a program that undermines that effort is counterproductive, at best.