title: Popular weight reduction diets.
abstract: The percentage of people who are overweight and obese has increased tremendously over the last 30 years. It has become a worldwide epidemic. This is evident by the number of children are being diagnosed with a body mass index >85th percentile, and the number of children begin diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, a disease previously reserved for adults. The weight loss industry has also gained from this epidemic; it is a billion dollar industry. People pay large sums of money on diet pills, remedies, and books, with the hope of losing weight permanently. Despite these efforts, the number of individuals who are overweight or obese continues to increase. Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disorder. It would be impossible to address all aspects of diet, exercise, and weight loss in this review. Therefore, this article will review popular weight loss diets, with particular attention given to comparing low fat diets with low carbohydrate diets. In addition, the role that the environment plays on both diet and exercise and how they impact obesity will be addressed. Finally, the National Weight Control Registry will be discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Division of Biobehavioral and Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Nursing Education Building, 420 Guardian Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096, USA. svolpe@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Stella Lucia
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Volpe
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003463:Cues; D004033:Diet Fads; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002149:Energy Intake; D004779:Environment Design; D015444:Exercise; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates