UGRC 145:
FOOD AND NUTRITION IN
EVERYDAY LIFE
Session 11 – FOOD FADDISM
Lecturer: PROF. MATILDA STEINER-ASIEDU, SBS, CBAS; University of Ghana,
Email: [email protected]
College of Education
School of Continuing and Distance Education
2014/2015 – 2016/2017
Session Overview
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this lecture you should be able to:
• Promote a sound, factual understanding of foods
and their use.
• Explain what food faddism is and a fad diet
• Describe basic characteristics of fad diets
• Differentiate facts about food from fads
• Describe at least 2 eating disorders and their
implications on health
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 2
Session Outline
The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:
• Topic One: Food Faddism
• Topic Two: Eating Disorders
• Topic Three: Assignment/Discussion For Next
Session
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 3
Topic One
FOOD FADDISM
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 4
FOOD FAD
What is a food fad?
• It is an unusual pattern of food
behavior enthusiastically adopted
by those who practice it
–(Sometimes referred to as food cultism)
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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FOOD FAD cont’d
• Dietary fads have been known from 400500 BC when athletes and warriors used
products such as deer liver and lion’s
heart to impart certain benefits
– Example they did this with the hope that
consumption would produce bravery,
speed or strength
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 6
Who follows food fads?
• Followers of food fads are not necessarily
superstitious, uninformed or poor
• Most are convinced about the special
benefits of particular foods because
– of religious beliefs
–they are genuinely concerned about
diet and health but may lack access to
reliable and simple information
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 7
Who follows food fads?
People who follow these practices
precisely and with passion are
said to be FOOD FADDISTS
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD FADS
1. Special virtues of a particular
food are exaggerated and
claimed to cure diseases
(examples?)
2. Certain foods or food
combinations have special
health benefits
3. Emphasis on ‘natural’ or
organic foods
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 9
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD FADS
4. Elimination of certain foods from the
diet due to belief that harmful
constituents are present
Examples some believe that foods that are :
• enriched with vitamins are harmful
• preserved with chemical stabilizers are
harmful
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 10
CONCERNS WITH FOOD FADS
 Exaggeration: to make wild health claims or have an
obsession with a small aspect of nutrition.
 Saying that whole grains are good for health is different
from believing that whole grains cure certain diseases.
 Belief: in a health claim that is not entirely
supported by scientific research
 May be based on limited research or faulty research
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 11
Distinguishing between ‘fad’ and
‘sound’ claims
• In the book ‘Lets Get Well’ it is stated that nutrition
can prevent and cure diseases such as water
blisters, cramps, appendicitis, asthma, ageing, etc.
• Regenerative health programme by the Ghana
Health Services (GHS) makes recommendations to
suggest that consumption of fruits and vegetables
promote health.
Which of these is a fad and why?
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 12
What are Fad Diets?
o Fad diets: Subjective term used to label
restrictive diets (typically for weight loss)
o They typically promise to
i.
prevent or cure many diseases (cancer)
ii. cleanse the body
iii. stimulate fast and effective weight loss
iv. enhance performance in sports
o
Usually targeted at people who want to lose
weight
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 13
Characteristics of Fad Diets
1.
They are popular (but users soon find that the
results expected are not seen and so abandon
them)
2.
Foods are often labeled as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ which
may lead to elimination of important food groups
or unusual or ritual type food patterns
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Examples of Fad diets
THE LEMONADE DIET
 Developed in 1941 by a self-appointed ‘alternative
medicine’ expert with no formal medical training
 It was recently revived and popularized by Peter
Glickman in his book ‘Lose Weight, Have More Energy
and Be Happier in 10 Days’
 ‘Detoxification’ diet that relies on extreme-calorie
restriction to lose weight
 No solid food is taken only water, lemon or lime juice,
maple syrup and cayenne pepper
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 15
Examples of Fad diets cont’d
HIGH-PROTEIN DIETS
– Proposes consumption of large quantities of animal
protein (meat, eggs, fish) to lose weight and build muscle
– The flaw in this argument is physical activity and weight
training build muscle strength
– This diet is harmful to health because consumption of
large amounts of proteins over a long period puts pressure
on the kidneys and liver
– Protein diets may also lack vitamins
– Consuming a lot of meat means high fats and cholesterol
levels and more calories
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 16
Examples of Fad diets cont’d
OTHER FAD DIETS
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cabbage Soup Diet
Banana Diet
Tuna Fish Diet
Genetically Modified Diet
Acai Berry Diet
Grape Fruit Diet
All these diets are made from one ingredient and so are
limited in nutrients
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 17
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad diets
Poor long-term weight control
 Most
fad diets do not teach healthy ways of
eating because they promote fast methods of
‘improving’ health
 Weight
lost is gained quickly when old dietary
patterns are resumed
 Cravings
for foods not included in the fad diet is
developed and when the period is over, overconsumption will lead to greater weight gain
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 18
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad
diets
Non-communicable disease
– Fad diets restrict or eliminate fruits,
vegetables, legumes and whole grains
which may help prevent chronic conditions
– This leads to increase in chronic conditions;
heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 19
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad
diets
Non-communicable disease
High protein diets may also increase
calcium excretion leading to osteoporosis
(porous, fragile bones) and high risk for
heart and blood vessel problems
High protein diet, low carbohydrate diets
may lead to uric acid and calcium oxalate
formation, causing kidney stones and gout
(PAINS IN JOINTS)
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 20
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad
diets
Reduced work performance
– Increased in signs of tiredness and weakness
because of decreased carbohydrate intake
(the body’s energy source)
– Low carbohydrate diets cause a loss of water
and electrolytes (compounds that conduct electricity in
solution and useful in the body e.g. Sodium (Na+), Potassium
(K+),
calcium (Ca2+)
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 21
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad
diets
Reduced work performance
– Fluid and electrolytes are lost because the
body relies on protein and fat stores when
carbohydrates are absent and these are
linked with fluid and electrolytes
– Fluid and electrolyte loss will lead to serious
health problems e.g. low blood pressure
and weakness
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 22
FAD DIETS AND ORAL HEALTH
The concerns of oral health workers with fad
diets are:
– High protein diets increase body water excretion
leading to thirst (dehydration). This may be
associated with xerostamia (dry mouth resulting
from reduced or absent saliva flow)
– Reducing food intake to 1-2meals/day also
interferes with saliva flow. Chewing gum helps to
increase saliva flow
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 23
FAD DIETS AND ORAL HEALTH
– Fad diets that recommend intake of
caffeine-rich calorie-free drinks or herbal
supplements cause dehydration of oral
tissues and dental erosion
NOTE!!!
Saliva plays an important role in
preventing dental decay, cleansing the
teeth, and reducing the effects of acids in
the mouth which cause tooth decay
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 24
HOW TO DETERMINE FACT FROM FAD
Ask the following questions:
Does the diet promise fast weight loss or
easy cure of a disease?
Does the diet sound too good to be true in
what it can do for you?
Does the diet help sell a company’s product?
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 25
HOW TO DETERMINE FACT FROM FAD
Does the diet have any valid scientific
research to support its claims on what it can
do for the body?
Does the diet give details of “good” and
“bad” foods to eat and avoid respectively?
NOTE!!!
A yes to any of these questions means the diet
is a fad diet. See a nutritionist, dietitian or
health professional for clarification
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 26
Topic Two
EATING DISORDERS
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 27
Overview
• Eating disorders affect the youth especially females
• Severe dieting may also lead to eating disorders
• The two most common eating disorders are:
• Anoxeria nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Both these disorders are associated with tooth decay
and may be due to lack of carbohydrates and their
effect on water and electrolyte balance
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 28
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
 Marked by insufficient food intake to maintain adequate
body-weight (essentially voluntary starvation)
 Eating disorder characterized by obsessive fear of gaining
weight due to a distorted self image (see themselves as
fat when in fact they are very skinny)
 More common among young white women
 There are both biological and environmental causes
 Environmental causes associated with desire of
individuals to conform to media promotion of what
an ideal female-people in professions with social
pressure to be thin also have high risk
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Effects on health
• weight loss in a very short period
• irregular menstrual cycles
• Bone mineral loss
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Anorexic ladies
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Bulimia nervosa
Eating disorder in which the person
undergoes periods of over-eating
followed by self-induced vomiting
• Behavioural signs:
• over-eating
• eating in secret
• bathroom visits after meals to vomit
• use of diet pills
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Bulimia
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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BULIMIA NERVOSA
Common medical complications and
adverse effects of bulimia include:
• Weight gain
• Abdominal pain, bloating
• Swelling of the hands and feet
• Chronic sore throat
• Swollen cheeks and salivary glands
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 34
NOTE!!!!!!
• Faddism is dangerous to health
• Don’t be a food faddist!!
• Always be careful in your health
endeavours so that you don’t take any
aspect of your health programme to the
extreme
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 35
Topic Two
ASSIGNMENT/DISCUSSION FOR NEXT SESSION
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Take home
• List 2 characteristics of fad diet.
• What are the implications of eating
disorders?
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
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Next week
• We shall discuss food Habits.
• Make sure you read hand-out 9A
Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu
Slide 38