Fad diets take many forms. Over the years, they
have promoted consumption of specific foods (e.g., the
Cabbage Soup diet, the Drinking Man’s diet, the
Grapefruit diet), specific combinations of foods (e.g.,
the Zone) and specific times that foods must be eaten
(e.g., theRotation diet). Some popular diets recommend
elimination of certain foods (e.g., carbohydrates in
the Atkins diet, Protein Power, the Carbohydrate
Addict’s diet, Life without Bread, and Sugar Busters!).
Others recommend eating based on a person’s blood
type (e.g., Eat Right for Your Type), or eating like a
caveman (e.g., Neanderthin). Celebrities promote diets
(e.g., Suzanne Somers’ Get Skinny on Fabulous Food),
and fad diets have taken the name of well-known places
associated with wealth, fame, and thinness (e.g., the
Beverly Hills diet, the South Beach diet). If any one of
these fad diets worked, the problem of obesity would
likely have been solved long ago.
Some fad diets have been popular for many years
(e.g., Atkins Diet Revolution). Books appear as ‘‘new,
revised’’ editions and continue to sell millions of copies.
Unfortunately, there is nothing new or revised about the
diets; they simply appeal to a new generation of overweight,
frustrated dieters. The underlying reason why
diets (including fad diets) work is that they result in
decreased caloric intake. When energy intake is less than
energy expenditure, people lose weight.
Fad diets that
lead to decreased caloric intake, whether by eliminating
carbohydrates, eating cabbage soup all day, or adding
grapefruit to every meal, will result in weight loss. If a
person followed such a diet long-term, he or she would
keep the weight off. Of course, no one wants to live on
cabbage soup forever, or eliminate carbohydrates forever,
so people break the ‘‘diet’’ and gain back the weight they
lost—and often evenmore. The accompanying table provides
information about some common fad diets.
The American Heart Association provides some
tips that can be used to recognize a fad diet. First, does
the diet contain magic or miracle foods or proprietary
ingredients? There are no ‘‘super foods’’ or ‘‘magic
ingredients’’ that can undo the long-term effects of
overeating and lack of activity. Next, beware of fad
diets that claim rapid weight loss (e.g., ‘‘lose 10 pounds
this weekend!’’). Though quite appealing, weight loss
occurring this quickly is due to loss of fluid, not fat.
Studies show that gradual weight loss increases a person’s
success at keeping it off permanently. Sound
weight loss plans aim for losing no more than one to
two pounds per week.
Another sign of a fad diet is losing weight without
exercise. Studies consistently show that the single most
important variable that predicts long-term success at
weight loss and maintenance (not gaining back the
weight that was lost) is physical activity. Simple activities
like walking or riding a bike (to and from school,
for example) should be incorporated into one’s life.
Also, beware of the promotion of bizarre quantities of
foods or the elimination of other types of foods (e.g.,
cabbage soup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; avoiding
dairy foods; and eliminating carbohydrates).
Forbidding
certain foods or entire food groups, in addition
to being unhealthy, may increase the likelihood that
one will cheat, binge, or just give up on the diet. Finally
a rigid menu or rigid schedule of eating is a good sign
that one should avoid the diet. Limiting food choices
and adhering to specific eating times is a daunting task.
Rather, one should look for a plan that can be followed
not for a week or a month, but for an entire lifetime.
Knowledgeable practitioners do not recommend
fad diets because such diets do not work long-term.
Even though they might work in the short run, there is
little value in losing weight if one is only going to
regain it after the diet ends. With repeated dieting,
weight loss becomes more difficult and results in frustration,
feelings of failure, and loss of self-esteem.
From a nutritional standpoint, many fad diets
lack important nutrients. For example, high-fat, lowcarbohydrate
diets (such as the Atkins Diet) are low in
vitamins E, A, thiamin, B6, folate, calcium, magnesium,
iron, zinc, potassium, and dietary fiber, and
they also require supplementation. In addition, they
are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. On the other
hand, when individuals are allowed to choose foods
from all food groups, their diet is likely to be nutritionally
adequate and healthful long-term.
Most fad diets do not result in long-term weight loss
and are often nutritionally inadequate for long-term use.
