Miracle diets: When eating guidelines cause health problems

Authors

  • Jose Miguel Soriano del Castillo University of Valencia (Spain).
  • M. Inmaculada Zarzo Llobell Food & Health Lab of the Institute of Material Science of the University of Valencia (Spain).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.11.16193

Keywords:

fad diets, mono diets, Atkins diet, health, obesity

Abstract

Globally, 1.9 billion adults are overweight, 650 million of which are obese, which in turn impacts both health and the economy. Treating obesity involves strategies such as physical activity and dietary planning, always under the supervision of healthcare professionals. Recent decades have brought many fad diets, although they originated at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, these can lead to health problems among their users. A practical way to detect them is that they promise rapid weight loss (more than 1 kg per week), are allegedly effortless, impose excessive energy restrictions, and exclude food or nutrients from the diet.

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Author Biographies

Jose Miguel Soriano del Castillo, University of Valencia (Spain).

Full Professor of Nutrition and Bromatology at the University of Valencia (Spain) and director of the Food & Health Lab and Gastrolab-Fernando Sapiña, at the Institute of Material Science in the same university. He is director of the University Clinic of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Physiotherapy, of the Lluís Alcanyís Foundation, and co-director of the Joint Research Unit in Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Clinical Dietetics of the University of Valencia–Health Research Institute Hospital La Fe.

M. Inmaculada Zarzo Llobell, Food & Health Lab of the Institute of Material Science of the University of Valencia (Spain).

Predoctoral researcher at the Food & Health Lab of the Institute of Material Science at the University of Valencia and is an Adjunct Professor within the Official Master’s Degree in Personal and Community Nutrition at the University of Valencia (Spain).

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Published

2021-01-21

How to Cite

Soriano del Castillo, J. M., & Zarzo Llobell, M. I. (2021). Miracle diets: When eating guidelines cause health problems. Metode Science Studies Journal, (11), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.11.16193
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Issue

Science's structures (2021)

Section

Good to eat. Food and health at a time of information overload

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