Faddy Diets Cause problems ANY Time of Year
Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by Guy Edwards in Nutrition & Lifestyle
This time of year, with resolutions being made thick and fast there is a tendency to go for the newest weight loss diet. Tempting but make sure you are pick the right one and taking the permanent approach.
The National Obesity Forum has called for campaigns to improve public awareness about the dangers of following fad diets. This follows news from a survey carried out by UK GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare that found nearly 90% of British people are unaware of what visceral fat is, yet two thirds were motivated to lose weight after learning about the dangers of carrying too much of it.
Visceral fat, often referred to as ‘hidden fat’, is carried around abdominal organs and can increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in particular.
Two thousand adults were questioned as part of the survey and the researchers found that 64% of them were determined to lose weight this year. They also found that 86% of the people who had previously resolved to diet at New Year admitted they had been unsuccessful.
Chairman of the forum, Professor David Haslam warned: “Fad diets, which usually promise quick-fix weight loss, are unsustainable. They can actually do more harm than good. Invariably, weight is put back on, with some of the weight regained accumulating as visceral fat.”
Figures from the NHS Health Survey for England show that around two-thirds of men and more than half of all women, were overweight in 2007. This again serves to underline the importance of understanding how to lose weight effectively.
So why are faddy diets so harmful for your health?
- Diets which severely restrict calories effectively send the body into starvation mode as if there was a real famine situation. This causes the body’s metabolism to slow right down so that when a more normal eating pattern is resumed weight will accumulate very easily.
- Some diets advocate following a low-fat regime, regardless of the type of fat consumed. Whilst it is unhealthy to consume a large amount of certain fats in your diet it can also be very harmful to your health to cut out fat completely. It is important to make sure you include essential fats such as those found in nuts, seeds and oily fish in your diet even when trying to lose weight, not only are they absolutely vital for all round optimal health, they can also help to regulate metabolism and promote healthy weight control.
- Diets which restrict particular food groups, such as high protein / low carbohydrate diets can play havoc with your health and will very likely lead to some unpleasant side effects. Headaches, irritability, hormonal and digestive problems, bad breath and sleep problems can all result from following a high protein diet. In extreme cases they may even cause kidney damage and other more serious irreversible health problems.
So what’s the answer?
The answer that most people don’t want to hear is that there is no ‘quick-fix’ to healthy & sustainable weight loss. Those people looking for a magic bullet may find it in the short term but will also most likely find themselves locked in a never-ending cycle of weight loss and gain throughout their lives!
The healthiest way to approach weight loss is by following sensible, scientifically proven guidelines to improve body composition. Such as a Metabolic Typing or similar individual plan which combines dietary guidelines with exercise and lifestyle tips to promote healthy, sustainable weight loss and optimal health both now and well into the future. For more information on this exciting programme, please click here.
Sources:
www.nursinginpractice.com Fad diet warning issued 4th January 2010
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