- Severe and deliberate restriction of energy consumed by food (calorie intake). For example, it could be following a known diet or simply counting calories and setting strict goals.
- Limit the variety of foods and eat the same type:
- Low Carb Diet: Protein Diet, Atkins Diet;
- low fat diet;
- juice diet.
- Irregular meals:
- time food;
- diet 5: 2 (we usually eat five days a week and two days a week - we limit ourselves to food);
- skip meals;
- "Fasting days", ie no eating on certain days.
Who is on the diet?
Diet is common and popular. It is estimated that about half of women of normal weight have tried dieting. One study found that almost 70% of 15-year-old girls are on a diet and 8% of them follow a very strict diet. Another study found that approximately 70% of women and 45% of those on a diet are not overweight and do not need to follow any diet.
Ahead of the diet is dissatisfaction with your body and desire to lose weight.
A British study 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 skip at least one meal a day.
Dietary risks
Diet increases the risk of eating disorders. Scientists have found that if teenage girls eat a moderate diet then the risk of eating disorder increases, and with a strict diet - eighteenfold.
Frequent, strict diet contributes to obesity. 95% of those who follow a diet to lose weight will gain more weight in the next two years than they lost due to the diet. This is because during the diet, people severely restrict calories and variety of foods and experience constant hunger. Perhaps short-term dieters can ignore hunger for a short time, but after a long diet, increased appetite and overeating appear. This in turn leads to guilt and failure, which can increase dissatisfaction with yourself and your body. Some people live in a similar diet cycle all their lives - that is, their diet takes up a certain amount of their time and energy each day.
In addition, diet has been shown to slow down metabolism - calorie burning slows down.
Normal metabolic rate is restored shortly after the individual 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 damage may occur.
Diet can change the body's natural response to food, needs and appetite. One stops feeling hungry and satiated, one can stop distinguishing one's emotional needs from hunger.
Why do we go on a diet?
Many people of normal weight consider themselves overweight and want to lose weight by going on a diet. Many overweight people also want to lose those extra pounds and believe that diet will help them with this.
It is known that about ⅓ the world's population is overweight but about twice as many want to lose weight.
They are on a diet out of a desire to be slim. The global search for thinness has many reasons, one of which is the common fear of becoming obese. It turned out that such fears can already manifest in primary school students. For some reason, in our society, integrity is considered something shameful and condemned.
With advertising, the desire to go on a diet is supported in people by companies that focus on everything related to diet (diet, books, groceries and other products). Because we are in a very lucrative industry, diet is unnaturally optimistic about diet. In fact, it has been found that half of the people who are on a diet gain weight as a result - few of them can maintain the weight that is due to the diet for five years.
The success of a strict diet depends on many physical and mental factors and in obesity it is very ineffective for weight loss.