The dangers of Fad Diets

Quick-fix weight loss programs are everywhere these days. They claim to produce easy weight loss and immediate health benefits. While losing weight will better the health of an overweight individual, these diets often produce more health problems than they cure. Some are yo-yo diets where you put the weight back on as soon as you discontinue the diet, some severely restrict caloric intake and/or vital nutrients, and still others proclaim the superiority of one particular food item or group with little or no proof to back it up.

Permanent weight loss is a difficult goal to achieve. An estimated 95 percent of dieters regain the weight they have lost, some ending up even heavier than they were to begin with. The USDA discovered that the key to long-term weight loss and compliance is focusing on the psychological issues involved with eating habits and dieting in general. Changes in eating habits must be made gradually if an individual can be expected to stick with them when the diet is over.

Identifying fad diets is not as difficult as it seems. Watch for diets that severely restrict or advocate one food group, and always doubt any scientific claims that have no scientific evidence to support them. Claims of rapid weight loss are clear warning signs of a diet that will also rapidly return you to your pre-diet weight, and be suspicious of programs that appear to rely on "chemical reactions" to produce weight loss or boost the metabolism.

"Banning" certain foods has got to be one of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting. This will only lead to cravings, and subsequent binges, causing weight gain instead of loss. There are no "good" or “bad” foods, there are just "good" and "bad" eating habits. Dieting should be about altering those poor eating habits so that you not only lose weight, but keep it off permanently.

Dangers of Fad Diets:


Many fad diets are not nutritionally sound, and most of these diets have one major flaw. They tell us to only eat one type of food, depriving our bodies of important vitamins and minerals that are vital to our overall health. These diets can produce rapid weight loss, normally water weight, but the weight seldom stays off long-term.

One side effect of many of these diets is that the improper nutrition can result in a potential loss of muscle density. Fad diets can cause a 3-6% loss of muscle along with any fat lost. If the weight is regained, more fat and less muscle is replaced, resulting in less overall muscle protein. The less muscle you have, the fewer the calories you need to maintain it. This means that over time you will be able to eat less and less without gaining even more weight.

What about the high protein/low carb diets? These diets are supported by very little scientific evidence and actually result in greater water weight loss than fat loss. Experts warn that a diet high in animal protein is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat and puts people at an increased risk for heart disease. A diet too high in protein can also lead to enlarged kidneys and renal failure. High protein diets are also so low in carbohydrates that the body goes into ketosis (burning muscle for energy), which reduces hunger, but is neither safe nor healthy.

Many of the fad diets that cause a loss of water weight result in dehydration, which puts strain on the body's system in addition to making the dieter feel weak. Lack of carbohydrates means less energy, which in turn often means less activity. And since less activity leads to weight gain instead of loss...


For more information on the dangers of fad diets you might want to read this article: ‘Fad’ Diets May Do More Harm Than Good, Study Finds
Some Common Fad Diets:


There is no such thing as a "miracle diet." Fad diets are dangerous and rarely lead to permanent weight loss. Below is a list of some of the better-known fad diets:

Atkins Diet:
The Atkins Diet calls for the serious restriction of most types of carbohydrates while allowing for large amounts of fat and protein to be consumed. When the human body cannot get the energy it requires from carbohydrates, it breaks down fat and muscle, causing substances called ketones to form in the bloodstream. This diet leads to appetite suppression, but nausea, fatigue and fluid loss can all increase.

Many concerns amongst dietitians have been raised about the risk of heart disease increasing in people who follow the Atkins diet over long periods of time. This diet has also been criticized for lowering carbohydrate intake to 40 grams a day, which many doctors see as dangerously low. Weight loss may be due more to total calorie restrictions than low carbohydrates.

Zone:
The Zone is another low carbohydrate/high fat diet that relies on the presumption that we should eat 40% of our calories from a certain type of carbohydrates, 30% of our calories from protein, and 30% of our calories from fat. This diet claims that the body will burn fat at the highest rate possible if these percentages are followed because it is genetically programmed to be fed this way. To help individuals deal with the annoyance of attempting to plan their meals around these restrictions, there is an entire line of "zone-perfect" foods that can be purchased. Low levels of carbohydrates, fiber and certain vitamins and minerals can occur when following the Zone.

Cabbage Soup:
This is a weight-reducing program designed for short-term use. This diet calls for strange combinations of food to be eaten each day, but the dieter is also allowed as much cabbage soup as desired. This diet claims to produce ten to fifteen pounds of weight loss in one week, but is essentially a starvation diet, and most of the weight loss is from water. The soup recipe used cannot provide the body with all the nutrients it requires, and many people report feeling weak and lightheaded after a few days.

The Grapefruit Diet:
This fad diet is based on the assumption that grapefruit contains fat-burning enzymes. You eat half a grapefruit before every meal, and calorie intake is usually restricted to around 800 calories a day. This is a dangerously low amount, especially when combined with the program's suggestion that you drink large amounts of caffeine-based drinks. Since no fat-burning enzymes have ever been found in grapefruit, and the 800 calories is used up almost entirely on caffeinated beverages, it should be obvious why this diet cannot be expected to result in permanent weight loss or health benefits.

The 3 Day Diet:
This program offers a restricted calorie intake (about 1,000 calories) for a three-day period. Foods allowed are restricted, and the body tends to lose water rather than fat. The 3 Day Diet is not meant to be used for longer than three days, and the lost weight quickly returns.