Email a Friend
Print ArticleInformation and Resources
This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
Diet Wars: Which Plan Is Best?
Whether you count calories, fat grams, carbs, or points, your choice of weight-loss programs is bound to spark debate at the dinner table and the water cooler.
With more than two-thirds of all American adults currently tipping the scales and carrying around a bit more weight than they should, it's no surprise that the popularity of commercial diet plans and weight- loss programs has soared in recent years. In fact, the government estimates that Americans spend an average of more than $30 billion each year on weight-loss products and services.
When there's that much money (and fat) at stake, weight-loss programs work hard to build customer loyalty and often prey on the weaknesses of disillusioned dieters searching for the next big thing that will help them finally win the battle of the bulge.
But what inspires the religious-like fervor found among avid followers of commercial diet plans, like Atkins, The South Beach Diet, Weight Watchers, and others? Is it possible for people with opposing diet strategies to coexist peacefully in the same household?
Dieting Takes Commitment
Experts say most people who diet have a long history of dieting failure because less than 5% of dieters are successful at keeping the weight off for five years or more. So for many people, choosing a new weight-loss program offers a way to conquer their fear of failure and triggers powerful emotions.
"If they make an emotional connection it creates a possibility to fight their history of defeatism and failure," says health psychologist Daniel Stettner, PhD, a professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. "It allows a person to not only make a commitment to the plan, but it also creates the bond for optimism and hope."
Once they've committed themselves to a diet plan, researchers say loyalty helps them stick with it.
"People feel committed and loyal to their diets because it helps them to stay on the diet. If they didn't have that loyalty and commitment, they would doubt what they're doing in the first place," says Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, LMHC, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
Dorfman says it takes such an enormous amount of energy to stick to any weight-loss program, and people can almost become violent in their defensiveness about their choice of diet, much like religious fanatics.
"I don't support the vehemence about dieting, but you almost have to be enthusiastic about what you're following, otherwise it's going to be incredibly difficult to stay on," Dorfman tells WebMD.
The Draw of Diets
Experts say weight-loss programs constantly reinvent themselves to appeal to dieters' past failures and give them a new ray of hope. People are also drawn to diet plans and books that offer a new or novel approach to weight loss for the same reasons.
del.icio.us
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
-
1
-
2
-
3
-
4
-
5
-
6
-
7
-
8
-
9
-
10
-
11
-
12
Hot Topics
Boosting Your Breasts Without Implants
A breakthrough procedure gives women who want bigger breasts, but don’t like the idea of implant surgery, a new option.
