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The diet pills mania & keep-fit fashion in Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong United College GEU0411A Senior Semester Group no: 72 Choi Donny 01581883 Lai Man Ting Jessica 01654073 Ng Wai Yee Winnie 01668273 Tong Tim 01600513

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Outline Introduction Methodology Survey result Side Effects Mechanism of diet pill Case Study Proper ways to lose weight Conclusion

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Introduction Keep-fit has become a fashion, especially true in a modern city like Hong Kong. Various messages about weight losing can be found easily in everywhere. On TV Bookstores Mailboxes Part of daily life in Hong Kong

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Keep fit, keep fit! But why? Reasons for people to keep fit: Thinness is being considered as beauty. Effect of other fitness keepers. For health. People are finding shortcuts for keeping themselves thin easily. Purpose of the project is to investigate both the fitness-keepers and slimming methods.

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Methodology Three methods have been used to gather the information for the project. Questionnaire distribution Relevant data (interview, literature review) Case studies Should be objective and accurate.

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Questionnaire Result 558 Responses 45% 55% Never try slimming Tried 19% 36% Tried diet pills Never Try

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Background information 1/ Sex: 90%Female, 10%Male 2/ Age: 17 or below: 5% 18-23: 82% 24-30%: 4% 31-40: 5% 41-50: 2% 51 or above: 2% 3/ Educational Level: F5 or below: 12% F7: 8% University or above: 80%

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Sample Age group Age group : 18- 23 Reason: 86 body image survey report Men and women in their teens and 20s were the most concerned about their appearance.

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1/ Do you pay attention to your body image? YES 85%NO 15% Psychological factor: > women paid more attention than men to their appearance 2/ Would you mind being told as Pork/ Elephant Legs? YES 78%NO 22% Psychological factor: The negative adjectives make fat people upset: pork elephant legs

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Q3/ What do you think about your body image? 4/ Have you ever tried slimming? 56% Yes 44% No

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6/ Do you think Thinness = Beauty? 24% Yes76% No 7/ Do you agree the conception in the society is Thinness = Beauty?70% Yes30% No Social Factor: A new aesthetic sense: thin is equal to beautiful Psychological factor: The personal view: slim = confidence

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Q13/ How many percentage of income are you willing to spend on buying diet pills?

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5/ Do you have friend who has tried diet pills before? 72%Yes28%No 8/ Do you believe the efficacy of diet pills can help slimming?36%Yes64%No 9/ Do you think the efficacy of diet pills in advertisements is exaggerated? 96%Yes 4%No 10/ Will Artist Effect encourage you to buy diet pills? 13%Yes87%No Social factor: The effect of mass media Stars effect & the promotion of producers

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Q11/ Which slimming artist gives you the deepest impression? 1/ Han, Belinda 38% 2/ Sit Ka Yin 13% 3/ Chu, Athena 10% 4/ Chung, Christy 8%

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Q15-17 Only for those who have tried slimming 15/ Methods used for slimming 38% Exercising, 37% On diet, 15% Taking diet pills, 7% Using slimming lotion/ cream, 2% Join slimming treatment, 1% Others: Nutritionists

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16/ Reasons for slimming 16/ Reasons for slimming 37% for beauty, 28% for health, 23% for self-confidence, 7% for self-esteem, 3% follow the trend 2% others: able to wear more type of clothes Social factor: the designs of in-fashions are small size

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17/ Who affects you most to lose weight? 57% Self, 17% Lover, 11% Family 10% Friends, 5% Classmate Psychological factor: Peers effect Social factor: Discrimination on fat people ( a fat woman was rejected to broad the Dragon Air even though she bought 2 seats)

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Q18/ Brands of diet pill taken Q18-23 Only for those who have tried taking diet pills Q18/ Brands of diet pill taken

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Q19/ Can you achieve weight reduction by taking diet pills? 67% Yes, 33% No Q20/ Has your weight returned to normal level when you stopped taking diet pills? 51% Yes, 49% No Q21/ Have you read the detailed rules before taking diet pills? 66% Yes, 34% No

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Q22/ Is there any side-effect of taking diet pills? If yes, what are they? 31% Yes 69% No ~41% feel hot ~22% diarrhea ~19% palpitation ~11% bad temper ~7% others: hand-shaking, insomnia

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Q23/ Reasons of taking diet pills instead of other methods for slimming Convenient, Quick result, Hate sporting, Obvious efficacy, Lazy

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Interesting Figures (I) Measure the interviewees BMI by grouping them into 3 types Measure the interviewees BMI by grouping them into 3 types 1/ Never try slimming (45% of total) ~ 47% Underweight ~ 47% Normal ~ 6% Overweight 2/ Tried slimming but never take diet pills (36% of total) ~ 23% Underweight ~ 75% Normal ~ 2% Overweight 3/ Tried slimming as well as diet pills (19% of total) ~ 13% Underweight ~ 78% Normal ~ 6% Overweight ~ 3% Obese

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Interesting Figures (II) Measure those whose self -perception as a bit fat ~ 78% of them have tried slimming at least once ~ 70% of them dont agree Thinness = Beauty Contradictory?

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Interesting Figures (III) Measure those who will buy diet pills with reference to Artist Effect ~ 50% of them dont believe diet pills can help to achieve slimming Then, they buy for what?

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Interesting Figures (IV) Measure those who dont care their body image Measure those who dont care their body image ~ 25% have tried slimming Can anyone tell me their aims behind slimming?

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Interesting Figures (V) Comparison with HK Eating Disorders Association Ltd OursTheirs PeriodSep-Oct 03Jul-Aug 03 Sample Size5581192 Tried Slimming56%40% BMI (Normal + Underweight) 95%83% Exercising38%23% Confidence on Slimming Advertisements 4%70%

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Interesting Figures (VI) Comparison with HK Federation of Youth Groups OursTheirs PeriodSep-Oct 03 29-31 Oct 03 Sample Size558513 Age Group18-23 (82%)15-39 24%25% Efficacy of weight reduction 76%45% Agree Thin = Pretty Tried Slimming Products19%20% Side Effects30%31%

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Overview of five major kind of diet pills Appetite suppressers Thyroxin Intestinal fillers Diuretics Laxatives

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Side effects affect the central nervous system Anxiety Insomnia Depression Fatal effects

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The six syndromes of quick body-weight losing Yo-Yo syndrome Decreased metabolic rate Lowered immunity Altered menstruation cycle period Losing hair and unhealthy skin Organic functional disorder

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Mechanism of diet pill Interviewee: Dr Lam Koon Kit Professor in Chinese Medicine Department, CUHK Main ingredients of common diet pill are suggested.

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the Chinese herbal medicine ingredients doesn't have the effect on losing weight ???? According to our interview, The Chinese herbalist, Dr. Lam Koon Kit, has proved that : the Chinese herbal medicine contained in diet pills is in fact useless on losing weight, Therefore, those diet pills cannot be used to lose weight.

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Mechanism of diet pill Conclusion: Chinese medicine cannot eliminate fat from body. Affecting our appetite instead of body fat content. Doubtful ingredients Some ingredients cannot be taken in excess Unclear effectiveness of the pills. The concept of slimming by taking pills is violating the principle of Chinese medicine.

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Case Study Name: Sara Ko Gender: Female Age: 22 Occupation: Dental Nurse Height: 160cm Weight: Before: 66kg, After: 56kg Methods tried for slimming: 1/ Eat less 2/ Do exercises only 30 minutes hula-hoop/ day 3/ Take diet pills Length of time taken diet pills: 6 months continuously

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Reasons of taking diet pills: 1/ Quick result 2/ Obvious efficacy 3/ Cheaper than going to Slimming Firms 4/ Affordable price Positive Effects: 1/ Quick result: thinner, more beautiful, able to wear more types of clothes 2/ Excretion --- healthier Negative Effects: 1/ rely on diet pills 2/ bad temper 3/ anorectic 4/ faster heartbeat rate 5/ always feel hot

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Feelings: 1/ Actually it is not that bad, but remember not to be addicted to it 2/ Perseverance is a key of success 3/ It is a trend of taking diet pills 4/ Maintain a correct attitude: Healthy is the more important than slimming

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Case Study (Follow Up) According to the interview of Dr. Wong, taking diet pills will cause unhealthy in both physically and psychologically. So, what should we do??

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How to measure? the body weight of a person is highly related to the body health. coronary heart disease, diabetes, etc.

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How to measure? Body Mass Index (BMI) ClassificationMenWomen Normal24-2723-26 Moderately obese28-3127-32 Severely obese>31>32

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How to measure? Measurement of skinfold thickness Bioelectrical Impedance Method (BIA)

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Proper ways to achieve 1.Ask for the guidance from doctors 2.Proper diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle

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Conclusion the most important factor : The personal view: slim equals to confidence our survey: 60% of interviewees

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Conclusion: Our Survey diet pills is not so common in our society our survey: 19% of interviewees tried diet pills the components of diet pills are not useful in losing weight the interview of The Chinese herbalist, Mr. Lam Koon Kit

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Conclusion taking diet pills is harmful to our health the Proper way to lose weight: doing exercise, having a balanced diet and having a healthy living habit.

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Reference 1. 86 body image survey report , Psychology today , April 1986 P.30-44. 2. Vivian H. Heyward(2002) Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription ,University of Mexico. 3. Hong Kong Eating Disorders Association Limited http://www.heda-hk.org/ http://www.heda-hk.org/ 4. 97 body image survey report Psychology today , Feb 1997 5. A news from the Oriental Newspaper, 16 Nov 2003 6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1988. The Surgeon Generals report on nutrition and health. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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End Q and A