A Fitness Consultant Notes Changing Public Attitudes Since 60 Minutes "Is Sugar Toxic?"

The April 1, 2012 broadcast from renowned "60 Minutes" was groundbreaking in it's indictment of sugar as a potential leading cause for our worst diseases. Here, a fitness consultant looks at the new face of the fitness consumer since the report.
 
 
Public attitudes continue to evolve since the 60 Minutes report last April.
Public attitudes continue to evolve since the 60 Minutes report last April.
Jan. 26, 2013 - PRLog -- According to a Michigan based professional fitness consultant, the public was largely blindsided by the indictment of processed sugar as a possible cause for some of our societies most deadly diseases. Meanwhile the fitness consulting  and training industry relied upon to filter and guide is left trying to figure out how to take the information and responsibly lead going forward, she says.

Cheryl Boswell of the fitness website http://www.Bodyslimdown.com, has seen a large  increase in the requests for more content and information from her readers regarding the connection between sugar and our health, especially since the holidays.

"There was a smattering and more discussion the first few days (after the April report) than I'd seen in the previous few years among my clients and readers. Then it slowed down, but the increase has been gradual for the few months since." Boswell said. "The big thing is the topic is not new to fitness professionals, but to the general public this is all new. The concepts about sugar's prevalence in our food and how this might be our actual problem with obesity, heart disease, and even cancer, is pretty mind-blowing stuff."

The 60 Minutes piece can be seen here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7417238n. It properly pointed out that the science on sugar's connection to our greatest health threats is late in coming because studies about the effect of certain foods on people take so long to complete and are inherently costly.  This has largely left the manufacturers of foods heavy in processed sugars to control the talking points and nutrition discussion, Boswell said.

"We are at a critical point right now and the 60 Minutes piece changed the dialogue to the degree that people are now aware that there is real science making these connections between things we've always eaten and believed to be healthy, and our health problems." Boswell said. "I can now be more firm with people about the dangers of sugar and they'll be less likely to tune me out. My role is much more information provider and less about sales."

As far as the effect of the fitness product industry on the whole, there is now a clear trend where the future belongs to the consultants who can stay out front of the emerging information on the topic that was broached by 60 Minutes in April. It also means that responsible fitness professional are charged with giving greater emphasis to the holistic aspects of reaching the individual's body goals, particular what we eat.

"I recently updated my message to my readers and clients to focus on body outcomes and picking one of the three most desired ones to focus on." Boswell noted. "I'd love to be able to say that this workout or equipment is the key and you have to have it, but that's not reality. Post 60 Minutes, if you are going to be keeping your client's best interests at heart, you have to be talking about food and particularly the sugar content of the food. People need to understand those basic concepts before they spend money on anything else like equipment. That's the biggest change in my industry."

If you want to get direct advice on the topic, drop by Cheryl's site at http://www.bodyslimdown.com and leave a comment on a post. She'll get back to you promptly. But that's just one resource. Great information resources are everywhere online and the direction is clear that to be healthy means limiting sugar intake.

"As far as where this will all lead, my guess is at some point lower processed sugar will be every bit as big as the "low-fat" movement was the last 15 years. Boswell said. "It will take time and we are talking about lifetimes spent seeing the topic of healthy eating a certain way. It won't change overnight, but it will change and I place a lot of confidence in the existence of information resources so widely available online."
End
Source: » Follow
Email:***@bodyslimdown.com Email Verified
Tags:60 Minutes, Is Sugar Toxic, Dangers Of Sugar, Eating Less Sugar
Industry:Health, Fitness
Location:Michigan - United States
Subject:Projects
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
bodyslimdown.com News
Trending
Most Viewed
Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share