Exploring the Favorable and Adverse Physiological Responses Caused by the Misinformation of Fad Diets

Abstract

In recent years, obesity has become one of the most prominent health issues around the world. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, “In 2015, a total of 107.7 million children and 603.7 million adults were obese. Since 1980, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in more than 70 countries and has continuously increased in most other countries” (Afshin et al., 2017). This exponential increase in obesity has led to many individuals wanting to lose weight in a quick manner, resulting in the popularity of fad diets, which are diets that lack any scientific basis. However, many marketing companies or influencers have been known to exploit this new trend in fad diets for profit by promoting a specific fad diet as the “best” or “fastest” for weight loss. This prompts the question of the extent to which the scientific misinformation of fad diets impacts individuals. The three most compelling arguments when it comes to fad diets are that they can negatively affect functions/processes within the body, can be successful in aiding weight loss, and can cause nutrient deficiency.