The 11 September terror attacks on America are having tangible impact on the US diet industry, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
“A lot of Americans are reassessing their priorities,” reads the article: “With the country at war and fear of bio terrorism mounting, many are wondering what’s the point of being good anymore.”
What this essentially means is that for many, a strict diet plan has been abandoned in favour of an urge to live for the moment.
Gil Gruber, president of New York-based weight-loss counselling company Dietwatch.com Inc, revealed a story typical of many similar companies. Business, she said, plummeted by 61% in the week following the attacks.
Similarly, retailers throughout the US are reporting that sales of diet and low-calorie products are flagging.
Interestingly, nutrition expert Judith Stern, from the University of California, explained to the Wall Street Journal that Americans traditionally gain weight during wartime. It was during the First World War that the Food Administration introduced the “gospel of the clean plate”.
