This week, diet pills.

As the title suggests, this week I'd like to rant for a while about diet pill commercials. They almost always open by asking the viewer questions like, "are you tired of working out and never getting any results?" or, "tried diet plans but they're just too hard?" Well of course, this is where the magic pill they're about to tell you about comes in.
After the questions come the pseudo-scientific double talk during which the voiceover person on the commercial tells you a bunch of "facts" that you probably know already. These consist of things like, "excess fat builds up on top of the muscle underneath the skin" and, "stress at work, poor diet and lack of exercise" can lead to excess body fat. Basically they want the viewer to feel like their poor health isn't their fault; its simply a consequence of their ever-so-busy lifestyles that consist of sitting on the couch watching infomercials all day. This convincing scientific testimony is backed up more often than not by a doctor who got his certificate off the internet, or by some other means of shadiness.
Some of the newer ads, like the one for the Cortislim diet pill, try to promote a lifestyle centered around the pill. They have started to emphasize a regimen that includes exercise as well as taking the diet pills. One of these ads is posted below, again from youtube:

What the advertisements neglect to mention is that there are only three ways in which diet pills work, none of which are miraculous and all of which are almost always harmful. One way is to block the body's absorption of fat. While this may sound good, keep in mind that the fat has to go somewhere, meaning its usually crapped out (to use the technical term). Secondly, the pills can block the receptors in the brain that control appetite. This can lead to depression in some people. Thirdly, there are some diet pills that contain a stimulant. Taking these in conjunction with exercise can lead to heart problems. Just a little something to think about next time the commercial for that "magic pill" comes on.