Obesity is the chief contributor of preventable death globally (WHO). However, its faulty treatment can lead to serious health problems, resulting in chronic disabilities and even death. This is also a time when diets and “diet theories” are growing at a mind-boggling pace. According to an estimate, the number of theories, treatments and diets for weight loss exceed 29,000. But the truth is that fewer than 5 per cent are effective and manage to keep weight off; 13 per cent are potentially dangerous. The pressure to be thin is also mounting. Images of slender female models saturate the mass media. Internalization or acceptance of these societal standards of thinness may lead to low self–esteem, disturbed body image. This, in turn, prompt one to adopt fad diets. These diets advocate arbitrary, exaggerated theories of weight loss and encourage you to follow an unbalanced diet. They are a short-term, quick-fix approach to weight loss that do not work over time. Not surprisingly, fad diets cannot provide the same balance of nutrients as ordinary healthy food. Moreover, the success of any fad diet is short-lived because it results in the loss of water and protein, rather than excess body fat, from the body. Once normal eating is resumed, body fluids are quickly replaced and there is an immediate weight gain. Losing weight becomes even more difficult the next time around — a phenomenon known as the “yo-yo” effect. People who get into yo-yo dieting have a tendency to put on more weight every time they eat normally. Such regimes that neither encourage healthy eating nor establish safe and permanent weight loss can be quite dangerous. A diet which restricts variety contradicts the basic principles of healthy eating. Moreover, individuals suffering from hypertension, diabetes, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, heart failure or any other serious medical conditions should be discouraged to follow such regimens, as they lead to complications including dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, ketoacidosis or renal failure. Let’s have a look at the health consequences of fad diets:*Multiple nutritional deficiencies and imbalances. Your body could end up starved of protein, essential fats, fibre, minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium and vitamins like folic acid. The effects of nutritional imbalances can range from minor problems like constipation, headache, anemia, fatigue, lethargy, bloating, skin and hair problems to more serious ones like ketoacidosis, immunity problems, joint pains, osteoporosis, heart disease, even cancer to name a few.*Malnutrition with reduced antioxidant intake, which accelerate ageing, memory loss and onset of degenerative diseases.*Lowering of basal metabolic rate, predisposing an individual’s body more towards storing fat.*Lowering of HDL (goodcholesterol) levels, making a person prone to coronary artery disease.*Aggravation of menstrual irregularities, PMS and postmenopausal symptoms.*Lowered immunity leading to frequent infections, from simple colds and coughs to auto-immune disorders and tuberculosis.The facts about diet and weight loss are unfortunately so unglamorous that most refuse to accept them. Diets will work when they are designed for nutrition, based on scientific principles and customised for the long term. Also, there is no consensus about the best way to lose weight and keep it off. What is needed urgently to battle the epidemic of the bulge is research, government-sponsored debates and policies, public education to sort fact from fiction and evolve realistic diets.Successful obesity prevention will require public policy and initiatives to increase physical activity and offer healthy low-calorie food choices. Perhaps, a tax on junk food could prove to be a powerful weapon for the fight against fat.
