Fad Diets
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An escalating epidemic of overweight and obesity is affecting many countries in the world and if action is not taken now to stem the pandemic, million of people will develop noncommunicable disease and other health disorders. Obesity is now well recognized as a disease in its own right, one which is largely preventable through changes in lifestyle, especially diet.
Recent studies have shown that overweight and obesity affect over half the adult population in many countries. Obesity is common in industrialized countries and is rapidly increasing in many developing countries. The prevalence of obesity in adults is 10% to 25% in most countries of Western Europe and 20% to 35% in some countries in the Americas.
The principle causes of the accelerating obesity problem worldwide are sedentary lifestyles and high-fat, energy-dense diets, experts agree. "The rising epidemic reflects the profound changes in society and in the behavioral patterns of communities over the last 20- 30 years. Individuals may become obese, partly because they have a genetic predisposition to gain weight readily when they are exposed to unhealthy diets and lifestyles.
"Without societal changes, a steadily rising and already substantial proportion of adults will develop the many medical complications of obesity," adding that, "obesity's impact is so diverse and extreme that it should be regarded as one of the greatest neglected public health problems of our time with an impact on health which may well prove to be as great as that of smoking."
With obesity becoming a large epidemic that is effecting many Americans there has been a flood of miracle weight loss programs, no exercise programs and fad diets hitting the scene to help the appearance and lifestyle of Americans...