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(NaturalNews) The American Obesity Association reports approximately 127 million US adults are overweight, 60 million are obese, and 9 million are severely obese totaling over one-third of the adult American population. Consequently, fad diet plans and concoctions promising dramatic results have become popular. However, these magical shortcuts don’t offer long-term success, and some may even be dangerous to your health.

We have become such an instant society, with drive-thru windows, remote controls, and instant access communications including computers and cell phones, we now unrealistically expect instant results for every thing. Fad diets appeal to people because they promise quick and easy weight loss. These get-slim-quick schemes stand to make millions of dollars by keeping people confused and convincing them effective weight management is complex. The dieting fad industry takes advantage of people wanting to look and feel better, and who are willing to try anything if it helps them lose weight.

These dieting myths became popular because many of them work for a short period of time. When someone stops eating certain types of food or eats “special” combinations of foods, resulting in fewer calories being consumed, initially weight can be lost. Unfortunately, most of this weight lost is from water and lean muscle, not body fat. Understandably, most people can’t keep up with the demands of a diet strictly limiting their food choices or requiring them to eat the same foods over and over again, as with the nineties low-fat craze and the current low-carbohydrate craze.

Regrettably, people who use fad diets usually end up gaining back any weight lost and, many times, gain even more weight. Furthermore, recent research indicates this repeated "yo-yo" dieting may actually reduce one's life span. Many people will still prefer quick fix fad diets and pills instead of making long-term changes in their eating and exercising habits.

Currently there are very few controls or regulations informing and protecting the dieting consumer from these rip-offs. Without health risks being disclosed, weight loss "success" is vaguely defined using short-term results, and weight loss "failure” is always the consumer’s fault. The few regulations existing are rarely, or, at most, loosely enforced. Suffice to say: buyers beware.

The American Academy of Family Physicians warns to steer clear of diets or diet products:

• Claiming to help you lose weight very quickly (more than 1 or 2 pounds per week). Remember, it took time to gain unwanted weight and it will take time to lose it.


• Promising you can lose weight and keep it off without giving up "fatty" foods or exercising on a regular basis. If a diet plan or product sounds too good to be true, it probably is.


• Basing claims on "before and after" photos.


• Offering testimonials from clients or "experts" in weight loss, science, or nutrition. Remember these people are probably being paid to advertise the diet plan or product.


• Drawing simple conclusions from complex medical research.


• Limiting your food choices and not encouraging you about balanced nutrition by eating a variety of foods.


• Requiring you to spend a lot of money on things like seminars, pills, or prepackaged meals in order for their plan to work.

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