Fad Diets and Adolescents: A Guide for Clinicians, Educators, Coaches and Trainers

Fad diets have been prevalent in our society for hundreds of years, promising weight loss, fat burning, muscle building, and improved health. However, they are often ineffective, restrictive, and associated with significant health risks, such as malnutrition and eating disorders. This book provides an overview of fad diets through the ages, highlights the risks associated with them for adolescents, and offers recommendations for caring adults to steer adolescents away from fad diets and towards healthier alternatives.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 157 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Fad diets have had a profound impact on our society for centuries, promising a range of benefits such as weight loss, fat burning, muscle building, a flatter stomach, improved gut health, clearer skin, and protection of animal rights and the environment. However, it is important to note that fad diets are typically ineffective, often highly restrictive, and associated with significant health risks. Moreover, the practice of fad dieting dramatically increases the risk of developing malnutrition and/or an eating disorder.

Adolescence is a critical period of physical and socioemotional growth, during which young people are particularly vulnerable to poor body image and low self-esteem. This vulnerability can make adolescents particularly susceptible to fad diets, as they may seek quick fixes and solutions to their perceived problems. However, the nutritional risks incurred by fad dieting during adolescence can have serious and potentially permanent consequences for physical and psychosocial development.

This book aims to provide an overview of fad diets throughout history, highlighting the common features and how to recognize them. It will explore the nutritional needs of adolescents for normal physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development, and the risks associated with fad diets that prevent them from meeting these needs. The book will also examine why adolescents may be particularly prone to fad dieting and why they may have more to lose if they adopt these diets.

By examining the factors that shape adolescent diet culture, the book offers specific recommendations for caring adults in the lives of adolescents, including interdisciplinary health care providers, teachers, coaches, trainers, parents, and other caregivers. These recommendations aim to steer adolescents away from fad diets and towards healthier alternatives for achieving their goals.

In conclusion, fad diets have had a significant impact on our society, promising quick fixes and solutions to weight and health concerns. However, the reality is that these diets are often ineffective, restrictive, and associated with significant health risks. Adolescence is a critical period of growth, and the nutritional risks incurred by fad dieting can have long-lasting consequences for physical and psychosocial development. By providing an overview of fad diets, exploring the factors that shape adolescent diet culture, and offering recommendations for caring adults, this book aims to help steer adolescents away from these harmful practices and towards healthier alternatives for achieving their goals.

Weight: 338g
Dimension: 155 x 234 x 13 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031105647
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023