12 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
LIFESTYLE
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7,2002
Diet gimmicksthin only the billfold
Ten people want to lose weight. They are all prescribed diet pills, and then after a few weeks eight of them have shed some pounds. Simple math tells us that if the goal is to lose weight, then diet pills are a success.
HEALTH
Leslie Kimmel
lkimmel@kansan.com
Not so fast. Let's say that the same 10 people begin to exercise and eat well, and eight of them are still able to lose weight Which one of these plans works best when it comes to dropping unwanted pounds?
Exercising and eating well - the one that is not only the most natural and causes the fewest side effects, but also has been proven for centuries to have guaranteed results.
Diet and weight loss pills have a significant effect on the user's blood pressure, metabolism and general health. Some side effects include hypertension, dizziness, nausea, irregular menstrual periods and more.
Many people are well aware of these risks, but pop diet pills despite medical warnings. They figure that if it can make them go down a few sizes, then the supplements really can't be all that bad.
Part of this belief might be because of false advertisements generated by the billion-dollar weight loss industry. The Federal Trade Commission looked at 300 diet supplement ads and found that 40 percent were false-claim advertisements, and 55 percent contained claims that couldn't be substantiated.
Diet pills either suppress your appetite or they speed up your metabolism, allowing you to burn calories more quickly.
Therefore, you drop weight. Sounds like the perfect solution, right?
Wrong. As you reduce your calorie intake, your metabolism also slows down. As your metabolism slows, the amount of weight you lose also slows down.
Pills that increase your metabolism can permanently alter your metabolism — for the worse. They often raise it so high that when you stop taking the pills, your metabolism drops to a lower level than when you started taking the pills.
Thus, you not only gain back the weight you lost, but you can gain back even more. And the risks of certain diet and weight loss drugs increase dramatically the longer they are used.
This is why they should only be used if prescribed by a doctor. Diet pills work best when you are seriously overweight, have tried the diet and weight loss plan without success and the pills are combined with regular exercise and a proper diet.
The Food and Drug Administration also recommends that those looking to lose weight be aware of a few products available on the market.
Fat blockers, which promise to interfere with the fat a person eats, and starch blockers, which promise to block starch digestion, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pains.
Fillers, which are fiber-based products that absorb liquid and swell in the stomach so that you feel full, can cause obstructions in the intestines, stomach and esophagus.
Diet patches that are worn on the skin are not effective or safe. In fact, the FDA recalled millions of patches from manufacturers and promoters.
Just remember anything that claims to melt away fat really is too good to be true.
Don't forget your winter hat this season
FASHION
For my friend's birthday a few weeks ago I got her a card that had a picture, circa 1930, of two women sitting on the beach with hats on. Inside, it said, "As they wake up on the beach the morning after the birthday celebration, wondering what they had done the night before, they took comfort in the fact that they still had their hats on."
Sarah Behunek sbehunek@kansan.com
It was perfect, because hats are our trademark: decorative to go out and baseball caps to hide our bed head at work in the morning.
One hat that is plastered all over the pages of glossy magazines is the Russian "cossack" hat. It reminds me of the hunters in the cartoon movie Peter and the Wolf. Usually made from fox, otter and rabbit fur, these cylindrical "top hats" combine culture and couture. Animal cruelty aside, these head adornments are the mode, especially at J. Mendel Boutique, a Madison Avenue shop in New York City. Mendel is renowned for his fur craftsmanship and has an ad featured in the September Vogue with models flaunting the loud head accessory, ear flaps and all. A humbler, more Lawrence, version is your best bet if you are inclined to be a Midwest fashion risk-taker. A faux fur version can ward
Another faddish hat is the pageboy, which has actually reached downtown Lawrence. It is stylish but not in the "look at me" way the Madison Avenue cossack is. Although it would be lacking in our winter wonderland that is Mount Oread, say, midJanuary, this style can still be pulled off right now. Kind of taxi-driver, mostly news boy, this hat actually reminds me of my grandpa but I invested in a corduroy one anyway. It can be pulled off. Do not get hung-up on the image of a 70-year-old driving at 30 miles an hour with this hat on. Paired with anything vintage and a thick, cable-knit scarf, this
off the protesters and has all the panache of the real thing. Or a cheaper, cossack-inspired headdress such as the earflap hat by Arden B is a fashionable investment.
headwear is a more retro option than your average baseball cap.
Next on tap is the bucket hat. Known best for its warm weather wear-ability, the fisherman fashion actually comes in a below-freezing adaptation. Wearing a felted or suede bucket hat is a practical buy for the winter weather and is suitable for any occasion; from class to the bar. The shearling crusher (furry under-sided bucket hat) by Coach is even more seasonable, with furry insulation to keep the freezing Kansas wind from nipping at your ears.
And we cannot forget the most classic winter head accessory, the finest in cold weather fashion — the snow cap — or beanie, or ski cap, or whatever you want to call it. It is the most diverse in its design; snowflakes, speckled, cable-knit — snow caps have it all. The only downside is it is the one hat that will ruin your hair for the rest of the day, even if you wear it from your car or the bus stop to class.
Even though there is not as much daylight and getting out of your warm bed for class is that much harder, this season obviously has its upside: cool hats for cool weather.
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HEALTHQ&A
Jayplay is working with HOMEBASE to answer questions about body acceptance, healthy eating and physical fitness. Students in health-related fields will answer readers' questions every week. Submit questions to achap@ukans.edu. Participants will remain anonymous.
Q: Is Slim Fast a good way to lose weight, and is it a good meal replacement?
A: Slim Fast products are used as a meal replacement for one to two meals a day followed by a "sensible, well balanced" dinner and a recommendation of two to three snacks during the day. Following the Slim Fast plan one would expect an intake between 1200 to 1400 calories per day.
Unlike many other meal replacements, Slim Fast products do provide a sound base of nutrients. The products are milk-based (fat-free milk) and are fortified with vitamins, minerals and fiber. They contain no drugs, stimulants, or appetite suppressants, which can hinder health. Two Slim Fast shakes a day provide approximately 440 calories, 70 percent of the recommended daily allowance of 23 vitamins and minerals, 80 percent of the RDA for calcium, 10 grams of fiber, 20 grams of protein and two to six grams of fat. The Slim Fast soy products are lactose free and can provide additional protein from the soy.
However, a healthy diet is based on a variety of foods. A diet full of bars and shakes can become tiresome so a variety of healthy foods should always serve as the diet foundation. Slim Fast products are also heavily fortified in various vitamins and minerals. Drinking three to four shakes a day provide more than the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals, and that could cause adverse health effects if consumed in large amounts over a long period of time.
Educating one's self on healthy food choices is the key to healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. An exercise plan could also benefit one's diet goals. Slim Fast products can be healthy, but a healthy diet should always be the focus.
Kim Archer is a graduate student in Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences