Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Amazon.com and recommendations

I got an email from amazon.com with a new recommendation, based on past purchases. Now, what I had purchased was Megan Garcia's Just My Size Yoga, and Paul Campos' The Obesity Myth and The Diet Myth (didn't know they were the same book, just re-titled when I ordered them). So what did amazon.com recommend for me? Save 25% on a Weight Watchers online membership. I have no idea how they got that idea from my purchase of a fat woman's yoga video and two books about the myth of dieting. It just seems obvious to me that if someone thinks dieting success is a myth, then they aren't going to be interested in another diet that is bound to fail in the long run. Below is the letter I sent them, letting them know how to improve their recommendations in the future:
I bought 3 items about fitness and not dieting (Just My Size Yoga, The Obesity Myth, and The Diet Myth). You sent me an email recommending Weight Watchers online. I am not interested in another diet that does not work. I do not want to have ANY type of diet recommended to me. I am interested in Health At Any Size, not on changing the size I am. 95% of people who diet will regain what they lost within 5 years of going off the diet, and may regain even more weight than they lost. This is true, no matter what diet they use. There is no way to make a naturally fat person thin, just like there is no way to make a naturally thin person fat. Having been there done that, got the t-shirt, hat, and key chain, I don't need any more diet recommendations. If you had recommended more items along the lines of Paul Campos' book, that would have been more in line with my life philosophy and interests.

I don't know what the response will be, but I will post their answer, if and when I get it.

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