Overweight and obese people may engage in a quest for ways to lose weight quickly. Some turn to pills or exercise machines, while others seek out eating plans, including crash diets. These diets, which involve a severely restricted calorie intake or a fast, claim to help a person shed pounds quickly. Results often come at a heavy price.
Effects
Susan Moores, a registered dietitian who writes for MSNBC, notes that research shows crash diets can disrupt potassium, sodium and blood-sugar levels. This disruption is particularly unhealthy for people with heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease. Crash diets that involve fasting may also cause vitamin deficiencies or lead to muscle breakdown as the body strives to find nutrients. Even medically supervised crash diets can cause problems. The Weight Control Information Network, a government website, states that crash diets can cause nausea, fatigue, constipation or diarrhea and make a person more likely to develop gallstones.
Warning
Crash diets can lead to death because of the extremely low calorie intake. The Food and Drug Administration documented nearly 60 deaths resulting from a 300- to 400-calorie liquid diet that was popular in the 1970s. This crash diet allowed people to lose up to 10 lbs. a week, but some dieters suffered fatal heart problems because of nutritional deficiencies. Fatalities involved both people with pre-existing heart problems and otherwise healthy dieters whose heart muscles became malnourished.
Time Frame
Weight loss resulting from crash diets usually doesn't last because these diets do not teach people to change unhealthy eating patterns. Some keep returning to calorie-restricted plans when they regain the pounds, and their weight constantly goes up and down. Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, a clinical medicine professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, explains that repeated crash dieting can cause heart muscle loss and raise a person's heart attack risk.
Considerations
Crash diets are sometimes appropriate, according to MayoClinic.com, but they must have a specific purpose and be medically supervised. For example, doctors sometimes prescribe a liquid diet for people who must lose weight quickly before surgery or who have serious medical conditions. These diets involve an intake of 600 to 800 calories, followed up by a maintenance weight-loss plan.
Expert Insight
MayoClinic.com recommends a comprehensive weight-loss plan in place of crash diets, because a realistic plan makes it more like that the pounds will stay off. The site explains that appropriate plans include dietary changes, physical activity and behavior modification. Some may opt for prescription medications or weight-loss surgery. These medical treatments still require healthy eating and other lifestyle changes.
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