Fad diets come and go with some regularity. Author Susan Yager, in an interview with American Public Media, indicates that fad diets started in the 1930s. As Americans gained weight through the 1970s and 1980s, fad diets became more common. Fad diets such as the grapefruit diet, the boiled egg diet and the diet that recommended eating just lamb chops and pineapple promise quick weight loss, but rarely deliver.
Identifying a Fad Diet
Fad diets often attract media and Internet attention due to the outrageous food combinations and the extreme nature of the diets. Unlike diets that focus on balanced food choices and more physical activity, a fad diet may require that you eat foods in certain quantities, at certain times of the day and in defined combinations. Additionally, a fad diet does not allow you to choose foods you enjoy eating or make allowances for gender differences, dietary restrictions or underlying health problems.
Lack of Nutrient Balance
Eating just a few types of foods, reducing calories drastically or avoiding certain food groups altogether may cause you to suffer from undernutrition. This is a type of malnutrition, according to "The Merck Manuals," which likens this type of undernutrition from fad dieting to that of malnourished individuals in poverty-stricken countries. Long-term deprivation of nutrients from fruits, vegetables, proteins, healthy dairy, dietary fats and whole grains may cause you to become undernourished.
Bad Habit Formation
Fad diets often encourage and even require bad habits. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that a healthy adult get a minimum of 2 1/2 hours of exercise per week, a fad diet often requires no exercise. Rather than making sure you eat from all six food groups, fad diets usually de-emphasize or ignore your body's need for proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Additionally, fad diets sometimes offer expensive, nonprescription supplements in a misguided attempt for you to get all your nutrients while eating just one or two foods on the diet.
"Yo-Yo" Diet Cycle
While you may lose weight on a fad diet, the likelihood of maintaining that weight loss for any length of time is small. In a May 2009 study published in the journal "Obesity," researchers compared weight regain of participants who used a very-low-calorie-diet (VLCD) to both a reputable commercial program and a self-guided healthy eating program. The VLCD participants lost weight faster, but after 18 months, only 13 percent of those participants maintained their weight loss, as opposed to the 55 percent of the self-guided participants. When you regain lost weight, then lose weight again on a different diet, you are "yo-yo" dieting. As your weight goes up and down as you try different diets, you may find yourself gaining more weight than you lost, adding to your problem.
Considerations
Before you attempt a fad diet, analyze your motivations and need to lose weight. Talk with your doctor about a sensible diet plan, join a weight-loss group in your area or schedule a meeting with a nutritionist. As you try to lose weight using a healthy diet, focus on relearning healthy eating habits such as eating three to four healthy meals during the day, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Of course, limit the amount of high-fat foods you eat, as well.
References
- American Public Media: Marketplace: When in Recession, Fad Diets Reign; May 2010
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs: Skip the Fad Diet -- Go the Healthy Way
- "The Merck Manuals": Undernutrition: Introduction; John E. Morley; June 2007
- University of North-Texas: Diets: Fad-Based or Fact-Based
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: How Much Physical Activity Do Adults Need?
- "Obesity": Successful Weight Loss Maintenance in Relation to Method of Weight Loss; Angela Marinilli Pinto, et al.; May 2009
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