2008 Woodie Awards
Weigh options before considering fad diets
Joanna Bernal
Issue date: 9/22/06 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Students often look for a quick and easy way to lose weight, stay awake or perform better, but these results are not usually long-term, according to health experts.
Fad diets are identified as weight-loss plans that offer quick and easy methods to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, according to familydoctor.org.
Fears such as the "freshman 15" contribute to the pressures of dieting, said Laura Crawley, the assistant dean of Campus Life.
However, she said, according to a recent study of the American College of Health Association, the average weight gain is only five to seven pounds, and that students don't always gain weight.
Crawley said fast weight loss however, is not always healthy.
"You lose weight too quickly, and that's going to mess up your metabolism and in the long run, it's not going to be what's good for you," Crawley said.
Nutritionists say that stopping a fad diet can contribute to more weight gain.
Stephanie Dickerson, a nutrition counselor for Sodexho, said people are just looking for the easy way out and do not really want to change.
"The majority of the time, you're going to gain double that back because you didn't learn how to eat properly," Dickerson said.
Crawley said another problem with fad diets is they do not provide information on how to eat healthy after the program.
"You still haven't learned how to manage your own portion control," Crawley said. "You're going to go right back to your eating in The Main or going over to Fuzzy's Tacos."
Some popular fad diets and methods right now include the South Beach Diet, the Sonoma Diet, WeightWatchers, Jenny Craig, a raw food diet and vegetarianism.
High carbohydrates and high protein diets such as Atkins allow for the consumption of unhealthy ingredients, said Gina Hill, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
"Atkins is a free ticket for eating a lot of saturated fats and cholesterol because it doesn't really matter where your protein source comes from," Hill said. "A lot of people tended to eat higher amounts of sodium and cholesterol and other things we recommend people moderate their intake of."
Fad diets are identified as weight-loss plans that offer quick and easy methods to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, according to familydoctor.org.
Fears such as the "freshman 15" contribute to the pressures of dieting, said Laura Crawley, the assistant dean of Campus Life.
However, she said, according to a recent study of the American College of Health Association, the average weight gain is only five to seven pounds, and that students don't always gain weight.
Crawley said fast weight loss however, is not always healthy.
"You lose weight too quickly, and that's going to mess up your metabolism and in the long run, it's not going to be what's good for you," Crawley said.
Nutritionists say that stopping a fad diet can contribute to more weight gain.
Stephanie Dickerson, a nutrition counselor for Sodexho, said people are just looking for the easy way out and do not really want to change.
"The majority of the time, you're going to gain double that back because you didn't learn how to eat properly," Dickerson said.
Crawley said another problem with fad diets is they do not provide information on how to eat healthy after the program.
"You still haven't learned how to manage your own portion control," Crawley said. "You're going to go right back to your eating in The Main or going over to Fuzzy's Tacos."
Some popular fad diets and methods right now include the South Beach Diet, the Sonoma Diet, WeightWatchers, Jenny Craig, a raw food diet and vegetarianism.
High carbohydrates and high protein diets such as Atkins allow for the consumption of unhealthy ingredients, said Gina Hill, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences.
"Atkins is a free ticket for eating a lot of saturated fats and cholesterol because it doesn't really matter where your protein source comes from," Hill said. "A lot of people tended to eat higher amounts of sodium and cholesterol and other things we recommend people moderate their intake of."
Be the first to comment on this story