Fads and Trends

Every once in a while you just have to vent. I had to get the following off my chest;

While there's a general consensus that to lose weight the calories you burn must exceed the calories you consume, how you decide to achieve that goal is certainly up for debate.

I am constantly amazed, horrified and completely baffled by the bizarre weight loss plans people follow these days in an attempt to slim down.

Finding myself on the wrong side of 30, it's tough to keep up with the vernacular of today's young health and fitness enthusiasts. From legitimate health or medical conditions to trendy lexicon and pejorative slang, here is a partial list of terms you may have read, overheard or use yourself.

For every overrated trend, there is an underrated or otherwise under-appreciated aspect of diet and fitness. Let's take a look at some lesser-known, under-the-radar entities that may be helpful.

Before I unveil my list of the most overrated exercise and diet trends, I feel a disclaimer or two is in order:

What's different about the information contained in peer-reviewed medical journals and late-night infomercials? Oh, not much; that is, if you don't consider facts to be all that relevant. This is just one of the reasons why self-proclaimed fitness gurus have no qualms selling you their latest and greatest (read: worthless and potentially dangerous) fad diet system, while degreed and learned researchers from prestigious medical institutions work daily to remind us that most fad diets don't work in the first place.

A few weeks ago I was asked about the latest trends in diets. What's hot? What's buzzing? My answer is: nothing. It seems that days of the fad-crazy gotta-try-this-diet are behind us.

Over the last few years we've seen Atkins, South Beach, and others - like the Sonoma Diet - hit the bestseller lists. It seemed as if everyone was following the latest "revolutionary" diet.

But something has changed - and recent research surrounding our eating habits has put some numbers behind my hunches.

The NY Times has published an interesting graphic showing how food consumption has increased.

In 1970 the average American ate 16.4 pounds of food per week. By 2006 this had increased an additional 1.8 pounds per week.

What changed?

We like it sweet. Too sweet - and I can't help wondering how our obsession with sweetness is tied to our expanding waists.

Food mega-giant Kraft recently scored a hit in China with Oreos cookies - but not the kind that Americans eat. According to the Wall Street Journal: "Kraft learned that traditional Oreos were too sweet for Chinese tastes".

So they reformulated the flavor - and Oreos are now the No 1 cookie in China.

Not four and not six.

Apparently five is the perfect number of bites to take at your next meal. Dr Alwin Lewis's book Why Weight Around recommends the five bite approach to weight loss.

The latest diet frenzy has hit: The Flat Belly Diet - featured recently on Good Morning America.

The diet is written by Prevention magazine's Editor in Chief Liz Vaccariello (along with Nutrition Editor Cynthia Sass).

What's it about?

In 1981 Judy Mazel released the Beverly Hills Diet and a marketing juggernaut was born. She died recently of complications relating to peripheral vascular disease.

The million+ selling book blazed a trail for countless other fad diets that continue to plague today’s bookshelves. The Beverly Hills diet cast the mold of which other faddish diets have followed. Here is the basic formula:

It's rare to see an author targeted by the Federal Trade Commission. Unless his name happens to be Kevin Trudeau.

Trudeau's book "The Weight Loss Cure" has been misrepresented in a number of infomercials.

In reality, the Weight Loss Cure is complex and very difficult to follow.

Although it is difficult to ascertain what constitutes a “fad diet”, there are certain shall we say… qualities that come to mind when thinking of a fads. Oh sure, they ALL claim to be a “way of life”, but often they are trying to either start or capitalize on an existing trend.

So here are 7 indications that the diet book you saw gracing the shelves of your local bookstore may be unworthy of your hard-earned dollar.

Data from over 74,000 supermarkets and convenience stores across the UK shows some interesting trends. The top selling brands reveal much about eating habits.

In 1961 Americans consumed 2883 calories per person. By 2000 this had increased to 3817. Combine this with a decrease in physical activity and it's a no-brainer; in the space of 40 years people got fatter. Not only that - they also got sicker.

What foods made up this 935 calorie increase and what effect might those foods have had on overall health?

Are we eating a lot more animal-based protein? Red meat? Or is it the increase of saturated fats that have made us sicker?

The answers to these questions present a stunning contrast to traditional dietary dogma.

Celebrity + weight loss + unusual product = instant fad.

Beyoncé Knowles claims she lost 20 pounds by consuming a concoction made up of maple syrup, lemon juice, water and cayenne pepper. Of course it's not just any maple syrup but an organic "Madal Bal Natural Tree" syrup (UK distributor / USA distributor). Consequently sales of the product are soaring (src).

The search overlords at Google have produced another new toy - Google Trends - which "aims to provide insights into broad search patterns". So what does it tell us about diet trends?

What a strange phenomenon, people over-indulge during the holiday season, then jump on-line looking for a quick answer. 3 weeks later, no one cares anymore, and the traffic dies down.

Every year a plethora of diet and weight loss books are published. Many of these books are released in January - the "diet season" - together they represent the good, the bad, and the ugly of weight loss advice. Why do some diets become so popular - yet others barely get noticed?

Is it the quality of the book? Or the proven effectiveness of the diet? Is it to do with value for money?