e d i t o r ' s note PUBLISHER Brian Connolly
ear friends, Have you heard about the fat tax? The Boston Globe recently reported recommendations for a government imposed tax on high-fat foods. According to the report, 300,000 people a year die prematurely because of obese related diseases...add this to the myriad of illnesses relating to overweight, undernourished bodies, of which a very large percentage of our population is affected, and it's quite easy to see the seriousness of this problem. A fat tax, however, is not the answer. As both cigarettes and alcohol have proven, taxes don't work to reduce consumption; instead, many believe they increase the perceived value of the item, and the pleasure around its consumption. Once again, we see our way of dealing with pathology: an ill-considered reaction to the symptoms of the problem instead of a carefully applied solution to the root cause. So, why are more people than ever overweight? Clearly, the issue is complex; the over-abundance and availability of high-fat, over-processed foods is just the beginning. There is a laundry list of reasons; too many, in fact, to enumerate here, and some of which are discussed in Bryant Stamford's expose on Crash Diets (see page 16). The negative effects of crash dieting on health are fairly obvious, but what does crash dieting have to do with fitness? Everything. How many of us have ever used heavy exercise and/or crash dieting (even for a day) to lose a few extra pounds of fat-induced guilt? How many of us have used crash dieting instead of a sound and consistent exercise program to lose weight? How many of us have ever used heavy exercise alone, and found yourself with an injury that resulted in an extra five 'immobility' pounds? We think it's time to put an end to this 'habit-trail' existence, what do you think? As a publication with a short history and a tall commitment to bringing you unadulterated health & fitness information (nuts and bolts and real scoop stuff,) we are interested in knowing you: your thoughts, beliefs, struggles, and what's important from a health and fitness standpoint. For example, does it seem at all odd to you that as one of the 'richest' countries in all the world, we are quickly becoming one of the poorest, from an overall health & fitness standpoint? Does it disturb you to know that environmental pollution is increasingly a major contributor to illness? Have you wondered what actions you might be willing to take to help change the tide? Or, is the seduction of Doritos, Diet Coke, and Krispy Kreme just too much? What's happening to you that's affecting your health? The actions each of us take to live a healthier and more fit life will define our evolution as a culture and a magazine. We're planning now for 1999, and would like to hear from you. Even if you only answer this one question: What's holding you back from feeling really great? Write us at: Natural Health & Fitness, 121 E. 24th Street, 12th Floor, NY, NY 10010 attn: editor or e-mail us at: editor@nhfonline.com. Some of your responses will be published in the next issue; they may offer some interesting insight to our collective consciousness. Wishing you a fun-filled summer's end!
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lynn Komlenic PRODUCTION & DESIGN Malgorzata Nosowicz COLUMNISTS MajidAli, M.D. Armand DiMele, C.S.W., B.C.D. Letha Haddady James M. Joseph Hannelore R. Leavy Alan H. Pressman, M.D. Linda Shelton Bryant Stamford, Ph.D. Vinnette Thompson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Katherine Hutchison Bobbie Lieberman Bettina Marks Julia Sarno Khadija Woods Samantha Wright CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Ania Zielinska Juan Carlo Bermudez SENIOR MARKETING CONSULTANTS Martin Moss Jean-Paul Mulero SALES DIRECTOR Jim McGinley MARKETING CONSULTANTS Leeza Watstein Gayle Baines OFFICE MANAGER Tiffany Wells-Mladinich EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Amalia Shamshudeen-Hunter Aparna Narayanan DISTRIBUTION Green Distributing Healing Communications For advertising call: East Coast 212-529-8020 West Coast 310-996-1440 Natural Health & Fitness Magazine is published quarterly by Natural Health & Fitness, Inc. East Coast: 242 West 30th Street, 5th Floor, NY, NY 10001 Phone 212-529-8020; Fax 212-529-4847 http://www.nhfonline.com. West Coast: 2001 S Barrington Avenue, Ste 112 Los Angeles, CA 90025. Natural Health & Fitness Magazine is distributed in New York (quarterly) and Los Angeles (semi-annually). Natural Health & Fitness Magazine is a trademark registered in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office by Natural Health & Fitness, Inc. Subscriptions: $19 for one year (Canada: $24 per year; all other countries $36 per year. All Canadian and other international orders must be prepaid in U.S. funds). Copyright Š Natural Health & Fitness Inc., 1998. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce in whole or part. Anyone interested in reproducing this publication in whole or part should contact Lynn Komlenic at Natural Health & Fitness, Inc. Printed in Canada
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