Category Archives: Public engagement

via http://www.flickr.com/photos/armandolobos/6083910729/in/photostream/

Summer is a mere 100 days away, which means you need to hit the gym hard to get that beach body. Most people want a beautifully sculpted physique but not everyone is willing to put in the hard work and dedication needed to achieve that result, this is where weight loss supplements come into action.

Weight loss supplements are all over the media, ranging from pills you take twice a day such as Hydroxycut  or products like Sensa, which you simply sprinkle over your food like salt and pepper.

Supplements work in a variety of ways in our body; they can act as appetite suppressants or fat blockers. Fat blockers inhibit the enzyme ligase from the breaking down fats, so a majority of the fat which was suppose to be absorbed in the small intestine is removed through feces. Appetite suppressants play a role blocking the re-absorption of serotonin and norepinephrine, which are chemicals in the hypothalamus. Serotonin and norepinephrine are the chemicals that make you feel full after eating, so the purpose of not letting them be re-absorbed is so you feel full faster and therefore eat less.

via http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Synapse_diag1.svg
If a fat burner was present, the upward arrow on the right would not be there because the hormones would not be allowed to flow back

These products sometimes do the opposite of what they are suppose to and may cause people to become more unhealthy than they were when they started using fat burners. A study by Chang and Chiou from Tunghai University in Taiwan shows that people who started taking weight loss supplements relied on the pills too much. When compared with a group not taking the supplements, people taking supplements did less exercise and ate more often. It appears that taking fat burners gives people the impression that they can put any “bad” thing into their body because of the “good” the supplement it suppose to do, which is essentially leading to lifestyle full of health risks.

via http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/weight-loss-prescription-weight-loss-medicine

Along with being harmful to you because they mess with your brain and can cause you to become lazy, weight loss supplements can cause serious health problems such as heart disease, liver and kidney damage, and stomach ulcers. It has been reported that some supplements contain unsafe dosages of chemicals such as chromium, which can be toxic even at low levels. Some weight-loss companies have been accused of making false promises to the public through the marketing of their products and have been charged with fraud. Weight loss products can only aid in burning fat if one is willing to put in the work of exercising and eating right, but if people are already doing those things, then fat burners are essentially useless and not worth using because of the health problems they may cause.

Blog By Komal Virk