While answering a question on myLot this afternoon I got to thinking about dieting and the struggles overweight people suffer. This particular myLot user wanted to know the proper response to a skinny person that complains they are fat. Of course, this woman had been quite overweight some years ago, a size 20 to be exact. After the skinny woman had finished her rant about being fat, this myLot user replied, “Honey, You’re talking to a fat girl and I have no sympathy for you!” This woman, who generally poses a quite pleasant, likable disposition, has been hard-bitten by her weight journey. In her opinion, the skinny woman gaining 25 lbs over four years had no reason to complain.
Being a huge “search for it online” person, I did just that. “OK Google, what you got for diets that work?” A Google search for the phrase “diets that work” returns about 9,710,000 results in 0.35 seconds. With that bitter, out of character myLot response still on my mind, I took the liberty to investigate a few of these search results. The number one site returned was a diet review site with great SEO. (In case you do not already know, SEO is search engine optimization, truth does not apply) No real medical facts or medical references in that first site returned. In fact, nothing there but opinion; 10 diet plans with reviews and recommendations. The ninth return was dated January 2010, and every result in between was at least two years old, so I went with number 9 – The Daily Beast made a resolution for 2010: Let’s figure out, as definitively as possible, which diets really work.
I read the article completely. It presented lots of quotes and medical facts to support the findings, offering a certain level of legitimacy. I had to read it a second time to figure out their claim for number 1 diet overall, as I missed the link, twice! Below is a screen shot of the diet list.
Now I am thinking about this differently and wondering do overweight people really believe the sites that place higher in the search validate diets that work? Is it responsible for a bogus “diets that work” website to be the number one result on a Google search because of SEO and the framework of the site? Does this not cause further distress and disappointment for overweight people? After all, they are searching for help, strength, and/or support only to find SEO rich bullsh*t results. I believe people have to take responsibility for their actions however maybe Google owes them a disclosure in the same way paid bloggers are required to disclose…. I’m just sayin’
For the record, my hubby lost over fifty pounds in the last ten months. How did he do it – portion control, no late night snacking, reducing fats and carbs, and exercise. He’s happier and healthier, and I am thankful he didn’t search Google first!