Dieting Trends might be part of New Year’s resolution making, but not all diets are created equal.
Caitlin Trude | Contributing Writer
Like seasonal fashion trends, a number of trendy diet programs and other weight-loss quick fixes have come and gone over the past few decades. The classic advice to eat well, exercise and get a good night’s rest isn’t necessarily cutting it for many people who are trying out some of the popular health fads of 2013 which have included juicing, the Paleo diet and forgoing gluten.
“This [the dieting craze] is not a new trend, although it may be increasing in intensity as the population expands, lives longer and, for various reasons, gains more weight,” APU business professor Robert J. Skalnik said. “Most knowledge- able observers would agree that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. So it’s not really surprising that various weight loss products, services, and systems – some of which may be illegitimate – have proliferated.”
According to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (a government organization), approximately half the U.S. population is expected to be obese by 2030 if current diet habits continue. While some consumers choose the diet and exercise route, other consumers may be more susceptible to investing in weight-loss programs and supplements such as herbal weight-loss tea, body wraps and metabolism-boosting pills.
An ABC news report from May 2012 revealed that the annual revenue of the U.S. weight-loss industry is $20 billion. The weight-loss industry includes dieting book sales and programs, weight- loss drugs and supplements, as well as weight-loss surgeries. This revenue is brought in by approximately 108 million dieters in the U.S., 85 percent of whom are women.
With 30 years of experience in the marketing field, Skalnik revealed some of the techniques that many of the health marketers will use to entice potential customers to buy into their products and services.
“Many ‘health care’ marketers have been successful in tapping into our insecurities. The messages they provide, with accompanying images, are compelling: lose weight, feel better, be more attractive and have more fun,” Skalnik said. “The problem is that the magic formulas being promoted seldom work, at least not over the long term.”
Skalnik attributes Americans’ susceptibility to the dieting frenzy to the need for immediate gratification. Products and programs that guarantee losing 30 pounds in 30 days or significantly decreasing one’s body fat percentage can be found everywhere, but it is important for consumers to research the science behind these programs before partaking in them.
According to APU nutrition professor and registered dietician April Vincent, the seemingly current attraction toward healthy living marketing is not a recent occurrence, but has been a continual, evolving trend over the past several decades.
“Diet trends are always changing,” Vincent said. “In the ‘90s everyone was following a low-fat diet…today many people are hearing about gluten-free or Paleo diets and wondering if they are good diets to follow.”
Vincent, who is also a certified diabetes educator, emphasizes the fact that when it comes to dieting, results will vary from person to person. Although eliminating gluten has been popularized by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus, these results may not be typical.
“A gluten-free diet is really important for people who suffer from Celiac dis- ease or who are gluten-sensitive. These individuals have an immune reaction to gluten found in wheat, barley and rye,” Vincent said. “However, there is no conclusive evidence that a gluten-free diet is beneficial for the rest of the population.”
The Paleo diet (short for “Paleolithic”) entails eating from a strict animal and plant-based diet. While experts still disagree about the diet’s effectiveness and implications, proponent Dr. Loren
Cordain praises its ability to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. However, Vincent says that this model of eating is not necessarily the best dieting method either.
“The Paleo diet is designed to mimic the caveman’s lifestyle. Unfortunately cave- men only lived 30-40 years. Diet trends will come and go. Your best bet for health is to find a lifestyle that is healthy and that you can live with for the long term,” Vincent said.
Vincent admitted that she found herself caught up in various health fads early in her college career.
“I was more prone to falling for health fads before I studied dietetics. In college I tried a few bizarre diets (like the cabbage soup diet), but I never had long-term success,” she said. “Luckily, I have learned long-term healthy food and exercise habits that have helped me to maintain a healthy body weight. These are the principles I strive to teach my patients,” she said.
Like Vincent, Catherine Heinlein, who works as an assistant professor in APU’s School of Nursing also cautions her students to be wary of dieting advertisements.
“I always tell my students, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,’” she said.
In June 2013, a story published by news. com.au (a branch of the news organization News Corps Australia) revealed that the Raspberry Ketone Diet was found to have used fake endorsements from British celebrities Adele, Victoria Beckham and even Duchess Kate Middleton in order to appeal to customers, particularly women. Two of the companies behind the scam were Slim- Tone Plus and Slimzene, the distributors of “all-natural” weight-loss products.
“The consumer is the one who needs to be self-informed; they need to know how to do their own research to determine whether a product is safe,” Heinlein said. “The smart person knows that in most studies they will say, ‘The results of this study are inconclusive.’”
Heinlein’s advice to those seeking to live healthier lifestyles is to maintain a balanced diet with a variety of food options that is controlled in terms of calorie intake.
Ultimately, the best way of leading a healthy lifestyle or successful dieting does not involve quick solutions for long-term problems. Exhibiting proper eating habits and regular exercise will always reign as the most effective ways of maintaining optimal health, but for those intent on starting a new supplement or program, be sure to consult a doctor prior to or at least do your own research first.