Food faddism and fad diet usually refer to idiosyncratic diets and eating patterns.
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Food faddism and fad diet usually refer to idiosyncratic diets and eating patterns.
The term "food fad" may also be used with a positive connotation, namely, to describe the short term popularity among restaurants and consumers of an ingredient, dish, or preparation technique.Fact: date=April 2009
Fad diets
Belief in fad diets by adherents is often irrational. Many individuals who adhere to fad diets will not consider recommendations made by nutritionists and dieticians.
There are three categories of food fads. Some food fads incorporate a combination of categories:McBean, Lois D. M.S., R.D. and Elwood W. Speckmann Ph.D. (1974). Food faddism: a challenge to nutritionists and dietitians. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 27, 1071-1078.
- The virtue of a particular food or food group is exaggerated and purported to cure specific diseases, and is therefore incorporated as a primary constituent of an individual's diet.
- Foods are eliminated from an individual's diet because they are viewed as harmful.
- An emphasis is placed on eating certain foods to express a particular lifestyle.
Extreme faddist diets often lack the energy, suitable protein, fat-soluble vitamins, and some minerals that are essential for growing children. Parents forcing children to adhere to fad diets to the point of severe nutritional disorders is considered a form of child abuse.Roberts, I.F., West, R.J., Ogilvie, D, and M J Dillon. (1979). Malnutrition in infants receiving cult diets: a form of child abuse. British Medical Journal: 1(6159): 296–298.
Scientific view
Many forms of food faddism and fad diets are supported by pseudo-scientific claims. Fad diets claim to be scientific but do not follow the scientific method in establishing their validity. Among the scientific shortcomings of the claims made in support of fad diets:
- not being open to revisions, whereas real science isCarey, S (2004). A beginner's guide to the scientific method. Third Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning..
- observations that prompt explanations are used as evidence of the validity of the explanation.
Some in the scientific community comment that food faddism is born of ignorance about basic scientific dietary facts. The evidence supporting weight loss enhanced by anything other than caloric restriction is lackingKatz, D.L., (2003). Pandemic obesity and the contagion of nutritional nonsense. Public Health Reviews: 31(1):33-44.. There is also a lack of evidence to support that fad diets produce sustainable weight loss. Fad diets generally ignore or refute what is known about fundamental associations between dietary pattern and human health.
See also
Programs often considered fad diets:
