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I'm torn on this. On one hand there is a lot of body shaming and there are many fad weight loss diets that don't work and are even unhealthy. Sometimes they ar
by mfer 5y ago
I'm torn on this.
On one hand there is a lot of body shaming and there are many fad weight loss diets that don't work and are even unhealthy. Sometimes they are flat out scams that make people who do them a lot of money.
On the other hand, in America being overweight and obese (in the medical sense) is common and the cause of many health problems. In terms of policy (going beyond individuals) the lack of health caused by all of this increases health care costs we have to deal with as a society.
And, the health issues are getting worse and spreading. Or, so I've read.
We need ways to help deal with this.
- void_mint 5y agoI guess it depends on whether or not you think weight loss ads drive health. I certainly do not.
- mfer 5y agoWeight loss is a major factor in health. There's a bunch of science on that. On one hand, Pinterest is taking into account eating disorders going up. On the other hand, being overweight is talked about with body image and not about the health aspects. Tons of doctors don't even want to address it. My guess is concern about loosing patients or the lack of billing codes for insurance about spending the time on it. I don't like the fad ads. I also don't really like the lack of people talking about the health aspects either.
- void_mint 5y agoRight, you answered a question I didn't ask. Do weight loss _ads_ drive weight loss?
- mfer 5y agoYou didn’t ask a question in the previous comment. So, I commented. I don’t know what weight loss ads look like. I don’t generally know what any ads look like thanks to blockers. If I were to guessing would guess they aren’t any good. Yet, I do personally know people who lost weight which lead to better health from weight loss programs. They aren’t the new fads. I think it’s very much worth talking about weight and health in our culture. Not just the mental health stopping shaming but the physical health around things like heart disease, the biggest killer of Americans according to the CDC.
- void_mint 5y agoYour comments are about the value of weight loss. The topic being discussed is weight loss advertisements. That was the purpose of my first comment, and what I meant in my previous comment when I pointed out you were talking about weight loss and not the virtue of weight loss advertisements. Yes, weight loss is good. No, weight loss advertisements do not drive weight loss.
- gkoberger 5y agoThey aren't banning ads for vegetables or gym memberships. They're just banning what I assume are mostly scams and fake supplements.
- asdff 5y agoWhere does it end though? Pretty much every ad there is falls somewhere between "outright scam" and "shit you don't need." Ads are fundamentally hostile and attempt to make you do things you wouldn't otherwise do. You will never see an ad saying "Hike in your local woods," but you will see one saying "buy our backpack and shoes otherwise you aren't really much of a hiker by any stretch like this sexy model draped in our product"
- void_mint 5y agoA thing I've noticed about HN is there is always a strong sentiment of "Where will it end?" even for things that are relatively inconsequential and/or objectively good. If you submit that ads are fundamentally hostile, isn't any reduction in ads fundamentally good?