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Faddiets

Food

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Faddiets

Food

Uploaded by

Nevada Haldenvang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Food Fact Sheet

Fad diets
Many of us would like to lose
a few pounds. However you
shouldn’t be tempted by the
ever increasing range of ‘quick
fix’ and ‘miracle’ options making
unrealistic weight loss promises for
minimum effort.
Sadly, there is no magic solution to losing weight and
keeping it off long-term. There is no wonder-diet you
can follow without some associated nutritional or health
risk and most are offering a short-term fix to a long-
term problem.

What is a fad diet? • suggest being overweight is related to a food


A fad diet is the kind of plan where you eat a allergy or a yeast infection
very restrictive diet with few foods or an unusual • recommend ‘detoxing’ or avoiding foods in certain
combination of foods for a short period of time and
combinations such as fruit with meals
often lose weight very quickly. However, most people
then get fed-up with the restrictions, start eating more, • offer no supporting evidence apart from a
choose less healthy foods and pile the pounds back celebrity with a personal success story
on. • are based on claims that we can survive without
food or having liquid meals only
How to spot bad dietary advice • focus only on your appearance rather than on
It can be useful to be aware of misleading weight loss health benefits
claims so you don’t end up wasting your time, effort • are selling you products or supplements
and money and even risk your health. How can you tell
• recommend eating non-food items such as cotton
dieting fact from fiction? Stay away from diets that:
wool
• promise a magic bullet, ingredient or product
• make recommendations based on a single study
to solve your weight problem without having to
change your lifestyle in any way • recommend the same diet for everyone without
accounting for specific needs
• promise rapid weight loss of more than 2lbs of
body fat a week • based on a ‘secret’ that doctors are yet to
discover
• recommend magical fat-burning effects of foods
(such as the grapefruit diet) or hidden ingredients Remember, if it sounds too good to be true – it
in foods (the coffee diet) probably is!
• promote the avoidance or severe limitation of a
whole food group, such as dairy products or a
Who knows what?
staple food such as wheat without any medical Don’t be fooled by the fact that beautiful celebrities are
reason to do so (and suggests substituting them allegedly following some of these weird and bizarre
for expensive alternatives, special products or regimens.
large doses of vitamin and mineral supplements) They can often afford to have personal trainers,
beauticians, stylists and chefs and their photos are
• promote eating mainly one type of food (e.g. almost always ‘airbrushed’ to give you the impression
cabbage soup, chocolate or eggs) or avoiding all of a perfect body that doesn’t exist in reality.
cooked foods (the raw food diet) Many people claim to be experts in nutrition yet have
• recommend eating foods only in particular limited knowledge and offer no protection to the public.
combinations based on your genetics or blood
type
www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts

You should be wary of unqualified practitioners who • choose lower fat foods, eg lean meat and lower
may be offering unproven techniques to diagnose and fat dairy products
treat nutritional problems. • fill up on vegetables and fruit at meals and
Be suspicious of the following: choose as snacks and for desserts
• watch your portion sizes
• iridology
• get active, aim for at least 30 minutes daily of
• kinesiology
moderate activity. If you can manage more than
• craniosacral therapy that even better - ideally aim to build up to 60
• hair mineral analysis minutes a day
• face reading • be realistic about weight loss; aim to lose 1-2lbs
• tongue reading (0.5-1kg) a week. See your GP before attempting
• colonic irrigation any weight loss programme especially if you have
existing medical conditions.
• magnetic therapy
Ask your doctor for advice or to refer you to a dietitian
- you can also refer youself. Dietitians have recognised
Summary
qualifications, are regulated, will be able to guide you Fad-diets can be tempting as they offer a quick-fix to a
through the maze of dietary information that bombards long-term problem. However, they can risk your health
us and give you safe, unbiased, evidence-based and you should only follow advice from a doctor or
advice. dietitian.
The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to make
Basic guidelines healthier choices, eat a nutritionally balanced and
So what’s the best advice for getting rid of the extra varied diet with appropriately sized portions, and be
pounds and keeping them off? It may be obvious, but physically active.
to lose weight you need to make healthier choices,
Further information:
eat a nutritionally balanced and varied diet with
appropriately sized portions, and be physically active. Food Fact Sheets on other topics
Here are a few ideas to get you going and help you out including Healthy Eating, Sport and
of the fad diet cycle: Detox Diets are available at
• keep a diary and stay more aware of habits and www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts
problem areas
• have regular meals, starting with breakfast, and
include protein at each meal

This Food Factsheet is a public service of The British Dietetic Association (BDA) intended for information only.
It is not a substitute for proper medical diagnosis or dietary advice given by a dietitian. If you need to see a
dietitian, visit your GP for a referral or: www.freelancedietitians.org for a private dietitian. To check your dietitian
is registered check www.hcpc-uk.org
This Food Fact Sheet and others are available to download free of charge at www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts
Written by Sian Porter, Dietitian.
The information sources used to develop this fact sheet are available at www.bda.uk.com/foodfacts
© BDA October 2017. Review date October 2020.

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