Popular fad diets may yield enduring dangers
Safely shed pounds for the long run
Popular fad diets may yield enduring dangers: Elon’s Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Wally Bixby said many people repeatedly lose weight then regains it, also known as yo-yo dieting, since it can provide quick results to rapidly drop weight. However, he said very few people know how much stress it applies to the body and the consequences it may toll on ones health.
“To become healthier takes a lot of work and people do not seem to be willing to put the work in required to live a healthy lifestyle,” he said. “People are looking for a quick fix to lose weight, and ‘fad’ diets offer this.”
Bixby said one of the unhealthiest characteristics of crash dieting is that users are not instructed on how to maintain weight once they go off the diet, which usually results in the weight returning, sometimes even in larger amounts. In turn, this causes the person to try another diet, fail again and feed the cycle all over again.
Immune function, which can be measured by natural-killer-cell activity (cells that destroy virus-infected tumors cells, such as cancer, colds and infections, without being prompted by an antibody), was higher among people who had stabilized their weight throughout their life, the study said. These cells were significantly decreased by about a third in those who yo-yo dieted, even if it was only a few times.
It went on to say that even though dieters are losing weight to be “healthier,” the alternative impacts can be even more devastating.
“There are indisputable health benefits to reducing body weight among those who are overweight and obese,” a scientist of the study said. “Our concern is really the pattern of weight cycling or yo-yo dieting that many Americans go through.”
While the study reported that some diets, such as Sugar Busters! and The Zone, did not support claims to take and keep weight off, they were also proven to not have any serious long-term effects. However, other popular diets, such as Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, prompted health concerns.
According to the October 2000 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, the Atkins’ Diet specializes in almost doubling daily intakes of protein and eliminating carbohydrates, since the foods being consumed have extremely high total and saturated fat.
The report said long-term exposure can significantly increase serum and low-density lipoproteins cholesterol, which can act as a gateway to coronary heart disease (CHD), kidney damage, heart attacks and strokes.
According to an online poll conducted by The Pendulum, 34.2 percent of the surveys 116 Elon students have participated in the Atkins Diet.
Bixby said the biggest dangers are diets such as these that eliminate essential nutrients, since it can send the body into a starvation mode.
“Your body is designed to use carbohydrates as its main energy source and when you eliminate carbs from your diet your body gets energy from fat and then protein,” he said. “When prolonged, this can cause serious damage to the body including increasing the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and high cholesterol.”
Freshman Steph Hicks, who participated in the South Beach Diet for a month last year, feels there is a difference between some weight plans, like South Beach and Weight Watchers, and other diets, which cut essential food groups.
While she said she has not seen excess fad dieting occurring at Elon, she does not think many of her peers know the potential dangers crash diets can produce.
“With South Beach you loose weight really fast in the first two weeks since you’re eliminating food groups, but then you start bringing more food in,” she said. “If you pick the wrong [diets], like cutting all of your carbs out, I think it becomes really dangerous and it can’t be good for your health in the long run.”
The American Heart Association (AHA), which acts as the foundation for healthy and effective dieting, “found no scientific evidence to support the concept that high protein diets result in sustained weight loss, significant changes in metabolism or improved health,” the Journal of the American College of Nutrition said.
AHA recommends a diet high in carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat, since it would be packed with fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which slash the chances for CHD, diabetes and cancer.
They also said many crash diets can undermine health, cause physical discomfort and lead to disappointment when you quickly regain weight.
Junior Exercise/Sports Science major Kyle Cooper agreed, saying these diets can be psychologically damaging as well as physical, since they train a person to think that losing weight is impossible and that even traditional diet and exercise can be ineffective all together.
He also said many crash diet programs target younger, white females, a major Elon demographic, since they tend to be the ones with the most body image issues. While men also fall victim, he felt some women have to take extra precautions.
A 2006 study released by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found declining folate levels in American women of childbearing age, according to large blood-drawing surveys done between 1999 and 2004.
Lack of folate, a natural B vitamin, has been proven to contribute to neural tube defects, which are serious birth defects of the spine and brain. While there are a variety of reasons for the drop, the study points at popular low-carb diets, which boomed onto the diet scene in 2000, and unfortified whole-grain breads which directly impact folic acid intake.
While this is a small portion of Americans, Bixby said the overall problem is that people eat too much and do not exercise enough and grab onto the hopes fad diets wave in their face. And even though more people are becoming aware of how these diets impact their mental and physical health, he does not believe fad diets will ever fade due to people always looking for quick and easy solutions to their problems.
“In order to have healthy weight loss that is maintained, you need to change the lifestyle that got you there and fad diets do not do this since once the individual goes off the diet they gain the weight right back,” he said. “The bottom line is that fad diets do not change the lifestyle that created the problem in the first place.”
Safely shed pounds for the long run: Though crash diets can result in weight loss, it may not always be through the healthiest means, according to The American Heart Association. They have crafted a No-Fad Diet and said their mission is to inform the public about yo-yo dieting dangers.
“Many of these diets can undermine your health, cause physical discomfort and lead to disappointment when you regain weight soon after you lose it,” their web site said. “Unlike an incomplete liquid protein diet or other fad diets, a good diet can be eaten for years to maintain desirable body weight and good health. Fad diets fail to provide ways to keep weight off.”
So what is the best way to go about shedding a few extra pounds? The Fred Hutchinson Research Center offers a few tips to help lose and maintain weight:
-Only eat when hungry
-Take smaller portions than usual (you can always go back for more)
-If you splurge on a treat, throw away half of it away before eating
-Do not snack from a bag or container (remove a normal amount since you will eat less)
-Do not eat in front of the TV (studies prove it leads to consuming larger amounts of less-nutritious foods)
-Eat at home (meals are usually smaller and lower in calories)
-Avoid soft and “juice” drinks (they are normally packed with sugar and empty calories)
-Sleep! Studies show sleep loss increases the levels hormones such as cortisol, growth hormone and insulin, which promotes fat storage
Elon’s Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Wally Bixby said if you choose to go on a more traditional diet of eating healthier and exercising more, it is important to remember that it is a balance equation.
“You have calories consumed and calories burned. If these equal each other than you will maintain your weight,” he said. “If calories consumed exceeds calories burned than you will gain weight, but if calories burned exceeds calories consumed than you will lose weight.”
He said the best way to lose weight is to slightly cut back on your portions and increase your exercise, and to remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a quick-fix.
Diets do not need to be the enemy; anything eaten in moderation is not harmful and exercising, even just a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day, is not extremely time-consuming.
For more pointers on how to diet safely and correctly, please visit www. americanheart.com. To get more personal help, an Elon nutritionist can be reached at 278-7230, and a personal trainer at 278-7529.