Benefits Of Fad Diets

Most fad diets fail to encourage their users to exercise because they do not want to scare them away. The consumers of fad diets typically want to lose weight in the easiest way possible, and the last thing they want to do is take time out of their days to exercise. Instead, companies who sell fad diet products simply tell their users it is not necessary to exercise while on their diets. For example, Valerie Taylor, author of a Toronto Star article titled "All-Or-Nothing Diet," elaborates on a diet that encourages consumers to eat anything they want five days out of the week, while eating on a five hundred calorie limit for the remaining two days. It completely ignores the idea of healthy eating and moderation, and instead, nearly starves the …show more content…
The rapid, extreme changes in diet, and lack of essential food groups and minerals can lead to serious health problems consumers. For example, Catey Hill states in her Wall Street Journal article that many diets cause side effects; often times they are mild ones, yet sometimes they are severe. Many common fad diets result in side effects such as diarrhea, constipation, bad breath, and headaches. Other more severe side effects of fad diets include liver failure and heart problems. Although some are not severe side effects, they could definitely slow a people down and effect their everyday lives. Those who are unfortunate enough to experience the more serious side effects could be affected terribly. Effects such as liver failure and heart problems need to be checked often and treated carefully, resulting in immense medical expenses, especially for people who are simply trying to lose weight. It might seem odd that programs that have the possibility of leading to health problems are legal to sell, however, many of these products are not tested as many people assume they are. According to Yasmeen Abutaleb, author of a USA Today article, dietary supplements do not need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before going on sale. This administration only looks into a product if it proves to be unsafe at a later time. Many people believe that diets are safe because they are legal to sell, however, they do not have to be approved in order to be sold. Until a number of bad incidents occur due to a certain diet or program, it is not brought to the attention of the Food and Drug Administration, and the product is legal to be sold without previously being tested. Because of this rule, many fad diet companies use false scientific information to lure consumers into buying their products. In a Consumer 's Research article titled "They Might Make You Sick-Fad