Studies show that trendy diets are ineffective. So why is it so popular? | Food

Two years after the pandemic, where people land in the living room and produce countless TV bindings and stressful meals, the country has new problems to worry about. lb.

Looking at trendy diets and cleansing may be appealing to anyone looking for a quick solution or dramatic weight loss. But experts warn against answering siren calls for products, apps, and ads that promise to help you drop the pandemic pound while living your best life.

Charlotte Marquee, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University in Camden, NJ, said: “They can lead to weight gain, not weight loss.”

By focusing on reducing calories, for example, studies show that results can be counterintuitive, even if a trendy diet seems to make sense. Studies show that eating less calories can lead to hormonal changes that stimulate appetite and make people crave for high-calorie foods. Some epidemics cut out the entire food group, such as wheat, gluten, and dairy products, which contain the nutrients needed for health.

The American Heart Association and other health agencies encourage you to maintain a healthy weight, but emphasize the importance of a healthy eating pattern over epidemics and dramatic weight loss programs. Healthy eating patterns supported by the study include a Mediterranean diet and a diet (or DASH) to stop high blood pressure. These diets are low in animal fat, high in fiber from fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, and include lean meats, fish and poultry. protein. These patterns have been shown to improve heart and brain health, reduce chronic illness, and help people live longer.

However, despite the accumulated evidence against it, trendy diets are still popular. Researchers have begun to explore the reason.

Christopher Gustavson, an associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is one of the reasons why people who follow these diets may feel more knowledgeable than they are.

He co-led a study published in the journal Appetite last year, analyzing the motivations of people after a gluten-free diet for no medical reason. For example, people with celiac disease need to remove gluten from their diet because it can damage the small intestine. However, in recent years, gluten-free diets have become popular among people who have no medical reason to avoid gluten.

According to a Gustafson study, people without celiac disease who eat a gluten-free diet are more knowledgeable than those who do not eat, even though objective knowledge tests show that they are not. I felt that it was. People on a diet mistakenly believed that it was a healthier diet and helped them lose weight.

“The strongest predictors of people on this diet were those who said they did their own research,” he said. “But there is no evidence that a trendy diet is better than a scientifically tested healthy diet, such as the dietary patterns that follow with a Mediterranean diet.”

Gustafsson’s research did not find out where people were getting information. However, according to a 2019 survey published in the Public Health Report, searching for health information online has become commonplace in places with a lot of false information, with two in three adults doing it. It is estimated that it is. And many studies conclude that the quality of their health information remains questionable.

Marquee, director of the Center for Health Sciences at Rutgers University, says one of the reasons people believe that a trendy diet is effective is because of a powerful marketing campaign that conveys it.

“I want to believe that when we lose weight, our whole life improves and it’s often the message of marketing. It’s a very simplification of the world. The message is too simplistic, too. Whenever it sounds too good and not true, it’s probably. “

There are many financial incentives to convey that message. According to analytics firm Research and Markets, the global market for weight loss products and services is valued at $ 254.9 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $ 377.3 billion by 2026.

The Federal Trade Commission warns consumers about buying what weight loss companies sell. The agency’s website tips include advice on how to find fraud and false promises. Danger signals include products that promise to lose weight without dieting or exercising, and products that claim to lose weight permanently.

Experts provide the following general tips for suspicious cases.

– Diet promises quick and easy weight loss. “It’s possible to change habits, but it’s difficult and not fast,” Marquee said. “Whenever something is said to be fast and easy, it’s probably a lie.”

– You need to buy something. “The first thing I should be aware of is whether the source of information about the new diet is trying to sell something,” Gustafsson said.

– Advertising uses vague scientific language instead of hard data. Marquee said “real science” goes beyond details and explanations and does not make unfulfilled promises. This may apply only to certain groups of people who benefit from a diet, such as those who appear tentative or whose body cannot tolerate gluten or dairy products. “The real science would say,’This can work for these people under these circumstances,'” she said. “It’s not that sexy, but it’s likely to be honest.”

– Anecdotal evidence. These may be first-person nominations from celebrities and influencers. “We like anecdotes because they seem relevant and meaningful to us, but they’re not really scientific,” Marquee said.

So how do you know if the source is reliable? Gustavson confirms that the person providing the information has the appropriate qualifications and expertise, including partnerships with reputable universities, research institutes, and publications that may have scrutinized the information. He said he needed to.

“The Mediterranean diet has been identified by many researchers as a healthy option,” he said. “If someone goes out and studies it, they’ll find multiple sources saying it’s a healthy option. That doesn’t apply to some of these other diets. Probably. “