Fad diets have popped up all over the internet and media thanks to their promises of helping you lose weight quickly and easily. While there is certainly truth to many of these fad diets, it’s important to remember one crucial fact that everyone seems to forget; these companies are motivated by money.
Perhaps it’s a rather cynical take on the weight loss industry, but when you consider that it’s a growing market worth over $72.2 billion US dollars, it’s hard to imagine that people are motivated purely by good will or a passion to help people lose weight.
The dangers of a fad diet
Fad diets tend to offer some short-term results. For instance, cutting out carbs or going on a keto diet tends to offer fantastic weight loss results, but these are only short-term results that introduce some very real long-term dangers. Short-term in this case isn’t only a few months either–it’s several years.
Many people put back on the weight they lose after a couple of years because those diets simply aren’t sustainable. What’s needed is a healthy diet that provides all of the nutrition you need while also working on becoming more active so that your heart has a chance to work out. More exercise combined with a healthy diet and portion control is arguably the best long-term solution for stable weight loss.
Below, we’ve included an infographic that covers some of the dangers of fad diets and why you should avoid trying one for an extended period of time.
Infographic by: University of Southern California