Do Diets Make You Fat?

Weight-loss eating plans are increasingly being seen as part of the problem rather than the solution to obesity.

- Jennifer Bowden

The diet industry may be the biggest rort in history. It’s worth an estimated US$175 billion ($250 billion) a year, but the amount is even more staggering when you consider that diets rarely achieve sustainable weight loss.

It is important to point out that it is the diet that fails the dieter, not vice versa. The growing realisation that weight-loss diets aren’t a sustainable solution has led the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to shift its focus from weight loss diets in a position statement on obesity.

“Treatment goals should focus on encouraging healthy, nutritious diets, regular physical activity and adequate sleep to optimise health, including mental health. These goals are valid at any weight,” says Boyd Swinburn, professor of population nutrition and global health at the University of Auckland, who co-wrote the position statement.