When we think of diets, the majority of us associate diets with obese people wanting too lose weight. However, a diet is not just about losing weight. They also have the reverse affect i.e. anorexia.

• helps you either lose weight or keeps your BMI in the "healthy" range
• is balanced overall, with foods from all groups, with lots of delicious fruits, vegetables, and grains
• is low in saturated fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat intake (less than 10 percent of your daily calories should come from saturated fat, and less than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from total fat)
• includes a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains, a good source of fibre
• includes enough fruits and vegetables (a variety of each, five to nine servings each day)
• has a small number of calories from added sugars (like in candy, cookies, and cakes)
• has foods prepared with less sodium or salt (aim for no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day, or about one teaspoon of salt per day for a healthy heart)
• does not include more than one drink per day (two drinks per day for men) if you drink alcoholic beverages

    The New and Revolutionary diet that has been a success but also speculated:                                        

                                       

                                                                    Atkins diet

Here's a diet that recommends breaking the rules of low-fat and low calorie eating for an all-you-can-eat buffet of meat and fat, with just a few carbohydrates on the side. If there's anything that could be described as the modern carnivorous dream diet, this has to be it, right? Maybe not. Seems that along with losing weight, you may also lose something you’d like to hold on to: your health.

How Atkins works. The back cover of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution really does make it sound appealing. According to the book you can..."Eat the delicious meals you love"..."Never count calories"..."Enjoy a cheeseburger when you're hungry"..."Reach your ideal weight...and stay there"..."See amazing results in 14 days."

Those first 14 days are what Dr. Atkins calls the "induction diet." For 2 weeks you can eat whatever high-protein or high fat foods you want-meat, butter, cream, eggs. The only catch? You just have to limit your carbohydrates to 20 grams (g) per day- about one hot-dog bun's worth.

After those first 2 weeks, and until you reach your "ideal weight," you eat somewhere between 25 and 759 of carbohydrates daily. Then you move into a maintenance plan that lets you add just a few more carbohydrates, depending on your response.

The purpose of the induction, diet? According to Dr. Atkins, it's to trigger ketosis; a condition in which your body bums stored fat as energy. Here's how: without bread, potatoes, cereals, and other starches to supply its favourite fuel, glucose, the body creates compounds called ketones, a fuel derived from fat. He also says that by lowering your carbohydrate intake, you'll lower your levels of insulin, the hormone that brings glucose to your body's cells so it can be burned as energy. Any carbohydrates that you eat trigger your body to release insulin, but foods that are high in carbohydrates cause the biggest reaction. Dr. Atkins maintains that this carbohydrate-induced insulin boost causes you to store more fat and have a bigger appetite.

Case Study:   There's no question the Atkins plan has helped people drop pounds. Bill, a 26-year-old bartender in Pennsylvania, gave up his pizza-and-beer habit for the diet. His first week on Atkins, eating "zero carbohydrates," he lost 12 pounds; 5 months later, he's down 65 pounds. "For the first time, I wasn't hungry while trying to lose weight and that made all the difference," he says enthusiastically. Bill has gradually worked carbohydrates back into his life, but keeps them to between 30 and 40 9 a day. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution doesn't promise that you'll lose 65 pounds in 5 months, or even that you'll lose 1 pound in 1 month. But, citing a number of success stories, it does imply that you'll achieve some pretty dramatic results. There's Harry, who went from 280 to 230 pounds in 3 months and continues to lose 3 pounds a week. And then there's Philip. While under Dr. Atkins's personal supervision, he lost 44 pounds in 4 months.

Medical issue regarding high fat diets:

 Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which fats (also called lipids) build up within the artery wall, causing fatty streaks to form. Fatty streaks can be found in infants and young children. Over a period of many years, the slow build-up of lipids turns the fatty streaks into hard, fibrous plaques. These plaques, found mainly in adults, thicken the blood vessel wall and restrict blood flow, increasing the risk of a blood clot.

According to data compiled by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF), England and Scotland have some of the highest levels of obesity in Europe. But we are not alone (see below). The world-wide increase is also spreading to areas of developing countries where there is easier access to an over-processed diet and less need to be active in daily lives.

     

   

 

Obesity is also associated with:

• high blood cholesterol
• complications of pregnancy
• menstrual irregularities
• hirsutism (presence of excess body and facial hair)
• stress incontinence (urine leakage caused by weak pelvic-floor muscles)
• psychological disorders such as depression
• increased surgical risk

Conclusion:

I hope from this information and the talk you have some understanding of diets and the reality of the rising epidemic that is arising around us.

How do we stop obesity?

Can the government do anything?

What is the correct diet?

Do we let junk food take over our lives?

If you think you are overweight then use the Body Mass Index to determine if you are right. For men the standard BMI is around 25 and for women it is around 30!

                                                                                                                DEVISED BY KHALED HAMID!