Notes on "The Park Avenue Diet Show"; June 20, 2010

A fascinating article was recently published in the British Medical Journal reporting the findings of a survey that found a correlation between obesity and adverse sexual health.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/jun15_1/c2573

This article is certainly the first of its kind and sparked interesting discussion on many news blogs. A definite correlation was found between Body Mass Index and sexual behavior. Unfortunately, the findings were negative and unpleasant.

What is most interesting was this statement: “The relation between obesity and sexual ill health might be forged via physiological, social, and psychological mechanisms. It is in the social factors influencing sexual behavior, however, that we are most likely to find insights into these findings, particularly for women.”

The correlation between weight and impaired social behavior is addressed as a central premise in The Park Avenue Diet. No other weight loss book or philosophy works on these seemingly unrelated components of image simultaneously. Poor interpersonal skills, however, will lead people into the abyss of dietary excess; food provides the comfort and pleasant feelings that elude them in intimate relationships. Although a harsh reality, this must be addressed as part of a weight loss program. The researchers in the above scholarly article have obviously come to the same conclusion.
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The Ten Commandments of Dieting, as discussed on the 6/20/10 show:

1. Matter is neither created nor destroyed in a chemical equation. [This is The First Law of Thermodynamics which basically states for our purposes that weight gain or loss is totally dependent on calories. Any other explanation defies physics.]

2. No commercially available weight loss program has ever been shown to be better than another. There “success rate” is approximately 5-10% with success defined as 12-15 pounds in one year. These facts are shielded from the American public. They would not be if the issue was car safety, for example. [The studies that prove this can be readily accessed in the bibliography of The Park Avenue Diet. In fact, the AMA and ACP have asked that no further studies be done on this subject since the outcomes will always be the same.]

3. There is no single set of foods associated with normal weight. On the contrary, individuals throughout the world are able to avoid weight gain on hundreds of ethnically different diets. [The foods that magically produce weight loss are figments in the imagination of desperate magazine writers.]

4. A weight loss program that does not take into account other components of image will fail in the long and short run. [Please refer to the discussion above for an illustration of the relationship between BMI and “interpersonal skills.”]

5. Magazines whose cover articles describe “How to Lose Belly Fat” should not accept advertising revenue from products with “empty” calories. Why have we banned cigarette and liquor ads from magazines? [A currently available supermarket magazine tells gullible readers “Eat more, Weigh Less”—a physical impossibility]

6. “Hormonal” imbalances affect weight gain minimally, probably around 15 pounds, according to the American College of Physicians. [Obesity is not a “glandular condition.”]

7. “Yo-yo dieting” is an independent risk-factor for cardiovascular disease. [All the more reason to lose weight and keep it off!]

8. Human genetics do not account for any aspect of weight gain. The obesity epidemic began in the mid-70’s, and 30 years is too short a time for the human genome to be modified. [The idea that human DNA can change drastically in a few decades defies molecular biology and common sense, although not necessarily in that order.]

9. You can not lose weight without proper nutritional supplementation. You can not maintain a healthy weight without regular exercise. [Them’s the rules. I don’t make them.]

10. Do not look at the scale. Observant friends, family, and colleagues will notice any improvement. They, after all, are the ultimate judges of how you look. [This is another central premise of The Park Avenue Diet. If you truly look and act much differently, everyone will notice and be impressed.]