Are diet pills the new "drug" of choice for Americans? I couldn't help but think about that today while I was walking around a very well known store that I will leave nameless. With so many overweight Americans it's easy to see how easily diet pills can be marketed, but when do we say enough is enough? Is there a danger of them falling into the wrong hands?
Don't get me wrong. I think diet pills are great for people who need them, but what about those who don't? When we so openly support the use of diet pills in our society is there a danger of those pills becoming a drug for those who don't really need them?
I was walking through the health care section searching for cough medicine, and I took me about 15 minutes to find something that I could normally walk right to. That's because the entire health care section had been rearranged. Normally there are two small rows of the typical cold, flu, allergy, cough, normal sicknesses type medicines directly across from the pharmacy window. The shelving for both of those isles were completely removed, and the huge space left behind was now filled with a huge display for a well known but recently released diet pill.
As I turned to walk in the other direction, I noticed that the magazine isle had been moved to face directly across from the diet pills. On the end of the isle in plain view there were 4 magazines showcased that caught my eye. All of them were magazines geared for teenagers with super skinny girls on the cover. I walked over to examine them more closely, and I noticed that every single one of those magazines boasted tips for the perfect body or ways to lose a few pounds. Is it a marketing ploy to place these two types of items so close together?
I know many girls who have fallen into the "I'm fat so I'll take a pill" category. Unfortunately two friends of mine ended up in the hospital at a young age because of something like this. One was taking diet pills to suppress her appetite. She was able to avoid the hunger pains of not eating. She chose to do this because she wanted to try out for the cheerleading squad of the college she would be attending, but the squad had a weight limit of 105lbs. She was a very fit and healthy girl, but because of her height she weight much more. The other friend I watched struggle with a disorder was eating, but she was also using laxatives to move the food out of her system quickly. Eating disorders aren't rare at all in this country especially among teenagers and young adults.
Do you think these two types of items should be displayed so close together? I sure don't. Young people are very impressionable, and to me it's an open call for disaster. Any young girl who is already dealing with weight issues, self esteem problems, and possibly an eating disorder already in the making could easily be led into temptation.
I fully support diet pills for those who truly do need them, but what do you think?
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