Wellness gets debated often during an era when rates of obesity threaten to cause the United State health care system to go bankrupt. While doctors recommend balanced diets and regular exercise, an industry of fad diets and workouts exists in an attempt to provide a silver bullet to slow America’s expanding waistline.

Perhaps the nascent stages of the wellness industry began with the now iconic Charles Atlas ads in comic books. The ads appeared as comic strips and told the story of an out of shape person being bullied at the beach. The bully would “kick sand in the face” of his victim and cause the weakling to look bad in front of his girlfriend. Atlas exercise equipment was the solution to this problem, and an industry was born. Atlas gave way to the still kicking Jack LaLanne, who performed feats of strength on his birthdays as publicity stunts to advertise his exercise systems. While the 96-year-old LaLanne might be too old to perform his feats of strength, he is still trying to sell health-related items. He appears with his wife in infomercials for a juicer, which he says is part of the reason for his continuing vitality.

Suzanne Somers might have priced herself out of her signature role on the sitcom Three’s Company, but she was a willing spokeswoman for the Thigh Master. In the years that followed, celebrity workouts, diets or exercise equipment seemed to be an essential part of celebrity cash flow. Companies launched no-carb meal replacement bars, the South Beach Diet and workout programs such as the P90X. As the number of special diets or workout programs grew the level of obesity continues to rise. Perhaps the branding is part of the problem. Health is not like True Religion clothes. It is about making proper choices and taking a realistic approach. Avoiding processed foods, regular exercise and rest seems to almost always work.