- Strong and deliberate limitation of the amount of energy consumed with food (calorie intake). For example, this could be following a well-known diet or simply counting calories and setting strict limits.
- Limiting the variety of foods and eating the same type:
- low carb diets: protein diet, Atkins diet;
- low fat diets;
- juice diets.
- Irregular eating:
- hourly diet;
- diet 5: 2 (five days a week we eat normally and two days a week - we are significantly limited in food);
- skipping meals;
- "Fasting days", ie refusal to eat on certain days.
Who is on a diet?
Diets are common and popular. It is estimated that about half of normal weight women have tried dieting. One study found that almost 70% of 15-year-old girls are on a diet, and 8% of them follow an extremely strict diet. Another study found that approximately 70% of women and 45% of people on a diet are not overweight and do not need to follow any diets.
The diet is preceded by dissatisfaction with your body and a desire to lose weight.
A study in the UK found that two thirds of 14-15 year old girls and half of 12-13 year old girls want to lose a few pounds. Due to the stress associated with this, about a quarter of young girls missed at least one meal a day.
Dietary risks
Diets increase the risk of eating disorders. Researchers have found that if adolescent girls eat a moderate diet, the risk of developing an eating disorder increases fivefold, and with a strict diet - eighteenfold.
Frequent, strict diets contribute to overweight. 95% of those who follow a diet to lose weight gain more in the next two years than they lose as a result of the diet. This is due to the fact that during the diet people greatly limit the number of calories and variety of dishes, experiencing constant hunger. Diets may be able to ignore hunger for a short time, but after long diets there is an increased appetite and overeating. This in turn leads to feelings of guilt and failure, which can exacerbate dissatisfaction with yourself and your body. Some people live in a similar cycle of diets throughout their lives - that is, dieting takes a certain amount of time and energy every day.
In addition, diets have been found to slow down metabolism - the rate at which calories are burned slows down.
Normal metabolism is restored for some time after the person returns to a healthy and adequate diet.
A strict diet affects both mental and physical health. Bad breath, fatigue, overeating, headaches and cramps, constipation, sleep disturbances and possible bone destruction may occur.
Diets can change the body's natural reactions to food, needs and appetite. One ceases to feel hunger and satiety, one can stop distinguishing one's emotional needs from hunger.
Why do we stick to diets?
Many people with normal weight consider themselves overweight and want to lose weight through diet. Also, many overweight people want to lose those extra pounds and believe that diet will help them do so.
It is known that about ⅓ of the world's population is overweight, but about twice as many people want to lose weight.
They are on a diet of wanting to be thinner. There are many reasons for the global pursuit of slimness, one of which is the equally common fear of gaining weight. It was revealed that such fear can now appear in elementary school students. For some reason, in our society, fullness is considered something shameful and condemned.
Through advertising, the desire to go on a diet is supported by people from companies focused on everything related to diets (diets, books, groceries and other goods). As we are in an extremely lucrative industry, the diet industry is unnaturally optimistic about diets. In fact, it has been found that half of people who are on a diet gain weight as a result - few are able to maintain the weight lost as a result of the diet for five years.
The success of a strict diet depends on many physical and mental factors, and in obesity it is highly ineffective for weight loss.