Et tu, Prevention?

It's been a while since this magazine geek has looked at Prevention magazine. What I remember from the last time--maybe 10 years ago--was that Prevention was a pretty good health-related magazine, with in-depth articles, exposés, thoughtful journalism, and some reader service--the tips and tricks kinds of articles.

This evening I looked it up online; I'd been told there was an article in the current issue I should see. I got to Prevention's home page, and was immediately assaulted by the following headlines:

Kick-Start Your Metabolism!
Flat Belly Diet! Tips to Shed Pounds Fast
Eat Chocolate to Lose Weight
Calculate Your BMI
Eat Healthfully and Fight Disease
Heart-Smart Foods
Melt Fat With Every Step
Lose Up to 15 Pounds in 32 Days
Eat Up, Slim Down

Dear editors: There's more to life than obsessing over fat and weight loss. You'd think, reading this page (and this was just the home page--there's more farther in), that losing weight was the only meaningful measure of health.

Seeing it like this was a visceral reminder of our national obsession, and just how unhealthy it is.