The prevalence of obesity in 2007-2008 was 33.8 percent of the US population, according to "The Journal of the American Medical Association" article Prevalence and Trends in Obesity among US Adults. Over the past 10 years, the obesity rate had no significant increase in women but a significant linear trend upward in men. This increasing weight gain among women and men, combined with social and medical pressures, have led some individuals to attempt crash dieting in order to reduce their weight.
What is a Crash Diet?
A crash diet is a significantly restrictive type of weight loss plan that involves reducing the amount of calories and fat you consume almost to the point starvation. Even though thousands of men and women follow these diets every year with the hope of trying to lose a significant amount of weight, this type of weight loss is recognized by healthcare professionals and dietitians as being very dangerous. According to the Weight-Loss-Center.net, individuals who lose weight using crash diets do not develop a healthy weight management strategy that they can maintain for a lifetime and therefore often gained back all of the weight that they have lost.
Malnutrition
One side effect of crash dieting and severely limiting or restricting your calorie intake, is malnutrition, according to MedlinePlus. In an adequate or unbalanced diet is one of the number one causes of malnutrition. In some cases, malnutrition can be mild and cause no symptoms. However, severe dietary restrictions can result in permanent damage to the body. Symptoms of malnutrition can include fatigue, dizziness and fast weight loss. If left untreated, it can lead to mental or physical disability, illness and possibly even death.
Psychological Effects
One of the dangers of crash dieting is that it makes food the enemy, according to the University of Southern California nutritionist Patrice Barber. The goal of dieting is significant weight loss that can be maintained over the long term. Unfortunately, crash dieting often consumes an individual with their choice and they cannot think of anything other than the food they either are or are not eating. Ms. Barber explains that extreme dieting makes you crave the foods you do not allow yourself to eat.
Sustainable Weight Loss
Crash dieting also does not lend itself to a sustainable weight loss. According to Dr. Donald Hensrud at MayoClinic.com, these extraordinary efforts in dieting and exercise are not sustainable over the long term. Successful weight loss occurs when you make a permanent change in both your eating and exercise habits that you can maintain for months and even years. Crash dieting can sometimes result in the weight-loss of up to four to five pounds per week. However, doctors recommend a weight loss of one to two pounds each week. Each pound contains 3500 calories, so you must burn 500 more calories than you eat each day in order just to lose 1 pound. Burning more calories or losing more weight often means that you are burning lean muscle tissue and not fat.
References
- The Journal of the American Medical Association; "Prevalence and Trends in Obesity among US Adults"; K. Flegal et al.; 2010
- Weight-Loss-Center.net: Crash Dieting
- MedlinePlus: Malnutrition
- The Skinny: Top Five Dangers of Crash Dieting
- MayoClinic.com: Why Do Doctors Recommend a Slow Rate of Weight Loss?
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