Knowing that long-term weight management to maintain good health is important, we should be able to determine whether the guidelines/programs of popular diets are set up to be healthy habits for a lifetime or a fad diet that is all hype and will provide only a short-term fix.
Health Risks Fad Diets, and Yo-Yo Dieting
- Long term weight gain
- Eating disorders
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies like anemia
- Fatigue
Determining a Fad Diet
- Does the diet promise quick weight loss?
- Does the diet sound too good to be true?
- Does the diet help sell a company’s product?
- Does the diet lack valid scientific research to support its claims?
- Does the diet give lists of “good” and “bad” foods?
If you can answer “YES” to any or all of these questions, the diet is probably a fad diet.
History of Fad Diets
Women’s Day report on Bizarre Diets in History:
- 1727 – Avoiding Swamps
- 1800’s – Starvation or Hysteria
- 1820 – The Vinegar Diet
- 1903 – Fletcherizing
- 1925 – The Cigarette Diet
- 1928 – The Inuit Meat-and-Fat Diet
- Early 1930’s – Slimming Soap
- 1954 – The Tapeworm Diet
- 1960’s – The Sleeping Beauty Diet
- 1961 – The Calories Don’t Count Diet
- 1970s – The Prolinn Diet or the The Last Chance Diet
- 1980’s – 2000’s – Breatharian Diet
- 2000’s – The Vision Diet
- 2000’s – Ear Stapling
- 2000’s – The Cotton Ball Diet
Other Diets that Have Made the Rounds:
- Sources say royal members have followed it.
- It has been a French Best-Seller for several years.
- A diet with 4 stages, low in calories and high in protein.
- Promotes lean protein, oat bran and water intake along with a daily 20-minute walk.
- Uses a hormone, (human chorionic gonadotropin) found during pregnancy, to help people lose weight & maintain weight loss.
- 26 day treatment with 23 days of injections of HcG AND cut calorie intake to 500 Calories/day.
- FDA-approved only for – fertility!!
- Most report no fewer hunger pangs than those receiving a placebo and calories must continue to be low in order to lose more and maintain weight loss.
Low Carbohydrate Diets
- Atkins Diet
- Sugar-Busters Diet
- South Beach Diet
Cabbage Soup Diet
- 7-day plan
- Very few, specific foods allowed each day
- Will lose 10-12 pounds in the week
- Have not changed any lifestyle habits, and have lost mostly fluid
- Soup and other allowed foods will cause gas
The Recommendations:
Assessment of weight and health risk involves using three key measures under the care of a physician or dietitian:
- Body mass index (BMI)
- Waist circumference
- Risk factors for diseases and conditions associated with obesity
A Healthy Weight Is Needed to:
- Reduce your risk of disease and health problems.
- Help you feel better physically and mentally
- Helps you enjoy life
Choosing a Safe, Reliable Weight-Loss Plan and/or Choosing Good Health at Any Size
- Healthy eating
plans that reduce calories but do not forbid specific foods or food groups. - Tips to increase moderate-intensity physical activity.
- Tips on healthy habits that also keep your cultural needs in mind, such as lower-fat versions of your favorite foods.
- Slow and steady weight loss. Depending on your starting weight, experts recommend losing weight at a rate of 1/2 to 2 pounds per week. Weight loss may be faster at the start of a program.
- Medical care if you are planning to lose weight by following a special formula diet, such as a very low-calorie diet (a program that requires careful monitoring from
a doctor).
- A plan to keep the weight off after you have lost it.
- Perhaps, weight loss is not the correct choice for you. Good health can be found at many sizes and choosing to live healthfully at a higher or lower weight may be the best decision. Check out more at the University of New Hampshire.
Where to Look for Help:
- Registered Dietitians
- Primary Care Physicians
- choosemyplate.gov
- eatright.org
Author: Cheryl Barber Spires, R.D., L.D., Ohio State University Extension, spires.53@osu.edu
Reviewer: Daniel T. Remley, MSPH, PhD, Ohio State University Extension, remley.4@osu.edu
Sources:
- http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/hcg-diet.htm
- http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/nutrition/a1523/15-most-bizarre-diets-in-history-106514/
- http://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/dukan-diet
- http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/fourteen-day-you-diet
- http://www.webmd.com/diet/evaluate-latest-diets
- http://www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/choosing.htm
- http://choosemyplate.gov
- hhtp://www.eatright.org
- https://www.unh.edu/health-services/ohep/nutrition/non-diet-approach-health-every-size-haes