Pros & cons of some popular extreme weight-loss diets

Abstract

Obesity has now become a huge public health issue not only in the developed world but also in developing countries. In view of the health hazards associated with obesity and more importantly for cosmetic reasons, many people, particularly the youth, have started resorting to 'extreme' weight-loss diets to achieve a rapid reduction in weight. These extreme diets are either very low in carbohydrate or very low in fat. Such extreme diets not only make the diet unbalanced but also have safety issues. Moreover, these are not sustainable in the long run. The weight that is lost is regained within a short period of time when people go off these extreme diets. This explains why the popularity of most extreme diets peaks as well as wanes rapidly. Instead of resorting to such extreme diets, correction of obesity is best achieved with balanced, healthy, nutritious diets which are low in calories, combined with adequate physical activity (exercise). Motivational counselling can also help people to initiate weight loss and sustain this weight loss over longer periods of time.

Keywords: Diabetes; low-carbohydrate; low-fat diets; obesity; very-low-calorie diets; weight-loss diets.