by Rebecca Dyson

Created on: March 02, 2008

Responsibility is the key word; each person being responsible for their own actions and their own behavior. The trend to seek monetary compensation for bad choices is running rampant in today's society. An example are the lawsuits against the tobacco companies; everyone knows cigarettes are bad. If people choose to smoke despite the warnings, it is their own choice. Choosing to smoke and then suing the tobacco company for providing the product borders on the ridiculous.

Magazines portray the ideal body as ultra slim. Should magazines be sued because people have eating disorders after they view pictures of skinny models? Many teens go through a spell of terrible eating habits after reading magazine after magazine filled with the "beautiful people". What about TV shows? The stars are almost always slender. Should TV shows be sued because people develop eating disorders after watching the skinny actors and actresses?

The same goes for holding the diet/weight loss industry responsible for eating disorders. Following a diet or taking a diet pill does not cause an eating disorder. Making irresponsible choices does, however. Blame should be placed where it is truly deserved; on the concept that skinny people are good people and the rest of us are nobodies.

One of the first things one finds out when they start researching fad diets is that they rarely, if ever, work. And after the diet, more weight seems to be packed on than was there in the first place. Excessive dieting results in up and down weight and a general unhealthy situation for the person involved in it. This is not new information; this is common sense.

Like many people, I have tried the "diet of the week." I have not had any success on any of them, and I doubt many people have. But; is following the fad diet or using diet pills an excuse for me to start participating in an eating disorder? No. And if I do, that is my problem; not the problem of the diet companies or weight loss industry.

The best way to lose weight - and the only real way to keep it off - is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet and couple it with an exercise program. Since that takes time and effort, many people are not willing to go that extra mile. Instead, they want magic in a bottle or diet chart. And when the magic doesn't work, some may resort to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

It is important to recognize that the diet industry didn't cause the person to make the bad choice, however. The person needs to be accountable for his or her own behavior and not try to place the blame on someone else.

Monetary compensation for personal bad choices may be the "in thing" in today's society, but it will ultimately do nothing other than hurt society on the whole. We have to get over the idea that we can sue for everything we don't like or for personal choices with unpleasant consequences and start living responsible lives.

People who do develop eating disorders should see a doctor and perhaps seek mental health counseling as well, as those eating disorders can be next to impossible to break without outside assistance. They are nothing to fool around with and can easily be life-threatening.

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