EDMONDS, WA--(Marketwire -05/16/12)- People who need to lose weight should forgo fad diets and instead should focus on sensible eating and exercise, says Dr. Gregory Jantz, a nationally certified psychologist, author of many books on eating disorders, nutrition and diet and founder CaringOnline.com, an Internet resource for eating disorder information and recommendations for eating disorder treatment.
"Losing weight can be hard because it requires destroying old, unhealthy habits and replacing them with new ones," says Dr. Jantz, "but trying to follow a complicated fad diet only makes weight reduction even harder. These diets seldom produce any result except frustration for the dieter."
Despite the promises they make and the celebrity endorsements they often garner, fad diets can lead to poor nutrition and even disordered eating, says Dr. Jantz. He points out that research consistently shows that weight loss is best achieved by eating balanced meals with appropriate portion sizes and exercising regularly.
Jantz cites a study published April 10 in the online edition of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Researchers who studied some 4,000 obese people found that those who lost 5 percent or more of their body weight over a year reported eating fewer fatty foods and exercising more. Following fad diets did not correlate with weight loss.
Some fad diets are worse than others in terms of the healthy foods they eliminate and the poor eating habits they encourage. A survey conducted by the Dietitians Association of Australia rated these popular diets as the three unhealthiest ones to avoid in 2012:
Dr. Jantz also founded and operates The Center for Counseling and Health Resources in Edmonds, WA, a residential treatment facility for those struggling with eating disorders and other major life challenges.
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Fad Diets Don't Work, Can Compromise Health, Says Dr. Gregory Jantz of CaringOnline.com
