With more than a month of school underway, most college students are experiencing one unanimous feeling — stress.
Overloads of homework and assignments, not to mention the impending doom of midterms could have almost any student on the verge of anxiety. The effects high levels of stress can cause on young adults are also harmful, ranging from lack of sleep to full-blown depression.
However, eating has become one of the largest issues surrounding college students. Luckily, in today’s society, almost anything can be cured by taking medication, specifically diet pills.
According to a study conducted by the University of Minnesota called “Project EAT,” over the course of a five-year period, teenage females’ use of dietary pills doubled to almost 14 percent from about 8 percent originally.
As more and more dietary pills are introduced to consumers, including CortiSlim and Hydroxycut, a growing number of individuals are being tricked into believing a simple pill can solve everything.
Nowadays, many commercials market their diet pill as being the best of the best, proving their worth by simply showing multiple manipulated pictures of individuals in supposed real-life occurrences.
The message many of these companies are getting across to men and women is that simply taking a pill is the answer to weight loss.
However, there is so much more involved.
In a competitive market, each dietary pill is more effective than the other, ending with the importance of which one will get the job done faster.
What became a source for health improvement has now turned into a scheme to quickly lose fat.
Sorry to say, but, in reality, there is no magic pill.
The fact that consumers have come to believe taking a pill without changing their individual habits will cure them of obesity baffles me.
Am I the only person who thinks taking a weight loss supplement allowing people to drop 20 pounds in two weeks without exercise is a little fishy?
Even if individuals do lose weight from taking these kinds of pills, it cannot be considered healthy in any way.
Not to mention the fact that these supposed miracle pills can cause heart problems, high blood pressure, seizures and nervousness.
Sounds worth it to me. I would be surprised if death were not included, as well.
Most of these pills are not even approved by the FDA, and that is scary.
Of course, it does not help that in today’s world of Lindsey Lohans and Nicole Richies, body image has become everything.
Society is always pinning pressure on everyone to look, feel and act a certain way. With role models like these, though, it is hard not to see why this is.
Add in the problems associated with a stressful environment, and these issues start to get out of hand.
I understand sometimes medication is necessary, but I have a problem when it becomes used as a quick-fix to issues that can be solved other ways.
Especially in the realm of college, it can become difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
With students resorting to junk food and binge eating, it is no wonder why the Freshman 15 exists in the first place.
However, instead of wasting money on a pill that may only make individuals feel better psychologically, take time to actually work on losing excess weight.
The best way to lose weight healthily is exercise and changing diet — not through a pill.
If people are that concerned about their weight, start by eating a fruit daily, such as an apple, orange or banana.
Even exercising for 15 minutes a couple days a week can aid and seriously improve a healthy lifestyle.
By making these kinds of changes, stress can also be managed, so consider it a win-win.
Instead of being lazy and taking the easy and more dangerous road, weigh decisions intelligently and think about the damaging impact dietary pills have on everything.
Let’s face it — the only way to avoid unnecessary means of dieting is to have a clear understanding of suspicion toward these miraculous drugs.
By CLAIRE MUNN
Senior Editor
clamunn@umail.iu.edu
