Tom Interval says he has gained insight into society from his job in a health store. Today’s culture is obsessed with physical appearance, he says. Too many folks rely on the many products on the market to develop or enhance physical beauty. Interval says people are so self-infatuated, they lose sight of what is important: self-acceptance.
As I walk into the place of my employment for the 955th time, I smell a sulfuric odor mixed with a tad of chocolate and vanilla. I’m surrounded by plastic and glass bottles of every color and size, the labels of which contain empty promises: colorful dreams of having the perfect body, having the ultimate health.
I work at Health Store X (the name has been changed to protect the innocent). Health Store X sells tablets, capsules, powders, liquids, creams and sprays that promise to improve the life of any human being. “Lose up to 20 pounds in two weeks!” one label reads. “Guaranteed or your money back.”
I was stocking the shelves one evening when a woman, about 39, walked into the store with the look of embarrassment. Apparently, she never had been in a health store.
She said, “Excuse me, sir, could you please tell me what is good for...well, could you tell me what works for...constipation?” I responded, “A lot of our customers tell me they like the dieter’s tea.” The woman replied, “Oh! Dieter’s tea? Will it help me to lose weight, too?”
“Oh, here we go again,” I thought. “Another person who wants to lose weight.” She then said, “Do you have anything else that can make me look like Cindy Crawford?” We both laughed, but it wasn’t funny. Deep down, she was serious. I asked, “Are you exercising and watching your diet?”
The retentive smile left over from the Cindy Crawford joke left her face. She said there was an “article in a magazine” that mentioned “some ‘fat burner’ that could help someone lose weight without exercise,” and “there were medical studies and surveys to back it up.”
I thought, “Medical studies? Who conducted the experiments? Who created the questions for the surveys? Was the research influenced by a biased public-relations firm?”
I told her, “The weight-loss supplements we sell are only about two percent of the battle, if that,” and the 98 percent would be diet and exercise. She didn’t say it, but I could sense it—she thought she could take a pill to lose weight. Subconsciously, she probably realized her notion was hopeless.
The majority of customers who ask me about weight loss are women. This may be due, in part, to the airbrushed images of supermodels on magazine covers. The images are so deeply ingrained in the customers’ subconscious that it is difficult for them to feel good about themselves if they are overweight.
Men are not immune to this type of thinking, either. What about the proverbial 98-pound weakling who wants to put on several pounds of sheer muscle mass? One product on the market claims to be the solution. It contains virtually no fat, high complex carbohydrates and the ever-popular amino acids—the “building blocks” of protein. Oh, this label represents reality...NOT. Adorning the cover is a 450-pound bodybuilder. And he got that big by taking 2,000 calories of chocolate powder, I can assure you. There’s no way he could be taking anabolic steroids...is there? The nerve of such a thought.
Adolescent men ask me which supplements can help them develop a bigger, tighter, leaner body. I tell them many customers use yohimbe bark, an herbal anabolic formula that supposedly increases testosterone levels naturally. One customer who tried yohimbe said, “Oh, man, I was so pumped. I noticed that my muscles were really hard.” Another man told me he had severe problems with acne and his temper was “uncontrollable” while using yohimbe. These symptoms often are associate with anabolic steroids use. Were these physiological manifestations evidence of the placebo effect? Who knows?
Amino acids are popular for gaining muscle, too. A powdered amino-acid supplement is supposed to be one of the most absorbable forms of protein. The more protein absorbed in the body, the bigger the muscles, right? Probably. But what about the protein derived from meats, eggs and milk? Remember the TV commercial that proclaimed, “You drink milk and it shows”? Perhaps they should rewrite it as, “You drink milk and it shows, but make sure you add our muscle-enhancing product.”
Cosmetically speaking, Health Store X sells creams, pastes and sprays that make embarrassing claims. One takes care of those tiny wrinkles beneath the eyes. And don’t forget vitamin E lotion; it eliminates stretch marks and bruises. Biotin shampoo or vitamins for the hair will create brilliantly shiny locks, maybe even prevent hair loss. Yeah, that’s it. Perhaps I should try some. If biotin shampoo or vitamins don’t prevent my hair from thinning, I could use a product that promises instant hair. Men spray this product on their heads and, when it dries, it forms a felt-like backdrop for small bald spots. I’m out of luck if I get my head wet, though; the dyes will drip down my face. The product is available in black, brown and gray.
So where does all of this foolishness lead me? The point is, today’s culture is obsessed with physical appearance. People are so self-infatuated that they lose sight of what is important: self-acceptance. I don’t believe a television commercial advertising change-your-body products draws gullible customers into Health Store X. I do believe it brings in customers who are conditioned to believe they are not good enough the way they are.
Tom Interval
