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Fad Diets

January 17th, 2009

A diet that is written only to be followed for a short time is called categorized as one of the fad diets. The term has also come to mean any diet that explodes into national or international fame, only to plummet into obscurity. The Hollywood diet, the Atkins diet, and Jenny Craig are just three examples.

fad diets are a subcategory of food fads. A food fad is a phenomenon in which some food or category of food suddenly becomes very popular. These generally have some common elements, including:

- Some elements of the food are said to have miraculous properties.
- Many other foods are completely eliminated from the diet, because they are thought to have negative properties.

As an example of these elements of fad diets in the diet, take the Atkins diet. In Atkins carbohydrates must be avoided because of their negative characteristics. At the same time, carbohydrates are the miraculous element — actually the lack of carbohydrates because it creates a metabolic state in which the body burns fat at an amazing pace. This diet had a number of short periods of extreme carbohydrate avoidance, followed by long periods of sustainable low carbohydrate eating. However, many people are able to continue the Atkins diet for years.

As with many fad diets Atkins rose quickly and fell just as quickly. For a number of years anyone who thought of dieting thought about the Atkins diet . Entertainment magazines were full of movie stars and music stars and sports stars who claimed amazing weight loss and fitness all due to the Atkins diet. When Dr. Atkins died to superstardom of his diet died with him.

There are many risks associated with fad diets. The Subway diet made popular in television commercials wasn’t exempt. It was based on the legend of Jared, a young man who’d lost nearly 250 pounds in only a year by eating Subway sandwiches, baked chips, and diet soda. In reality Jared cut his caloric intake from over 10,000 calories a day to only 900. That could have killed him. Even so in moderation the Subway diet can work, particularly when combined with exercise — Jared walked 6 miles a day.

Beware of fad diets. A long-term eating strategy combined with moderate exercise is usually the better bet.

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  1. January 17th, 2009 at 07:34 | #1
    Fad Diets | Health Info Center | ozvr.com
    http://ozvr.com/fad-diets-health-info-center/