Over the past few months, I've done my best to get back in shape. I've never experienced obesity and, although my cadio-vascular system was shocked by actually doing more exercise than a single trip up a flight stairs, I've managed quite easily to get back in a rhythm of regular workouts and reasonable eating habits.
The one thing that seems to go along with the pursuit of physical fitness and personal health is one's interest in metabolism, carb-counting, protein shakes, doping scandals and celebrity weight-loss stories that seem to maintain a grip on magazine covers and reality TV shows. My wife has picked up a few of these magazines (not only celebrity gossip, but more respectable fitness magazines as well), and after looking through them and watching (too much) TV, I've noticed a sort of cult mentality developing.
You pick up a copy of fitness magazines which promise butt-busting exercises which will change your life, or non-crunch ab workouts that guaratee results. However, beyond these fairy tale ideas of how to fix one's body, there are drug ads. Not just one two, but mounds of them. Full page spreads with attractive people suffering from any list of 8 million exotic dysfunctions, all which have a new cure coming in the form of a name-brand drug. "Next time you see your doctor, ask him if our new drug is right for you". A hypocondriac's blissful dream! "Maybe THAT'S what's wrong with me!". Sure, they're up front with the side effects (some which are FAR worse than the actual condition being cleared up by said drug), but some of them are getting much sneakier. As I was ignoring the show that was on last night, a drug commercial came on for some earth-shattering new drug to help something. As always, some pretty, healthy person was featured, obviously relieved of some sort of major anomalous disease, and there was a beautiful natural background involved that made all viewers feel warm and fuzzy. Pretty typical, right? Well, up to this point, yes. Until the end of the commercial came. There was definitely some SUPER-fine print on the bottom of the screen, and in the last 5-6 seconds, there was definitely some disclaimer provided verbally that was about 20 notches UNDER the regular level of volume. It was like it was whispering! It's bad enough that they ramble through the side effects and disclaimers on a typical ad. Now, they're trying to disguise it even more by killing the volume so only those with supersonic hearing can listen in to the, "It may cause sudden death if you take this purple pill" thing.
Beyond the fact that this annoys me, I hate the fact that nearly every single one of these drugs has someone telling the audience that they should "ask their doctor" if it is right for you. How many hours of doctor-patient discussions are wasted with regular conversations about some guy who thinks that he might have irritable bowel syndrome because he drank 4 pitchers of beer the previous night at the pub? Is this not instituting a cult of pharmacology that actually inspires people to develop hypochondria?
I'll admit that I know very little about the causes of such anxiety disorders. I've never battled them and don't actually know anyone suffering from such diseases. Still, it makes me uneasy to think that people would actually pursue these drugs for what ails them. It's widely known that North Americans rely far too much on medication (particularly pain meds and antibiotics) to get rid of things that could be solved in much easier ways. And obviously, since we live in a capitalistic society, I probably shouldn't find it strange that pharmaceutical companies engage in a dialogue that plays into typical fears of being unhealthy and unhappy and unloved and that, since there's a cure for anything, that they should pursue it until they're blue in the face (there's a cure for this too... it's called breathing). But it strikes a nerve... I guess a moral one to be more specific. How can they justify such advertising? It drives me looney.
Okay, enough ranting for the day. I'll leave it at that. I'll probably post something related in my hatred of the use of energy drinks at the gym and the total lack of common-sense that is absent in dieting and the other, related, cult of the skinny and fabulous. That's another talk for another day (or maybe later tonight... but I think the Biggest Loser is playing, so we'll have to see).
T
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