Recognize dubious diets

Diets and promising weight loss programs are a dime a dozen. Some promise success through strict food bans, others rely on pills and powders to make the kilos tumble.

Few of these offers keep their promises. Some of them can even be harmful to our health.
To help you recognize a dubious diet straight away, we have put together a checklist containing the most important points to remember. If an offer contains one of these points, you should be careful. If several points apply, keep your hands off it!

Points to note about a dubious diet:

• A weight reduction of more than one kilogram per week is promised.
• You don't have to change your habits to lose weight.
• Slick words such as "fat burner" and "negative calories" are used.
• Food choices are very restricted and therefore unbalanced, one-sided.
• Certain combinations of food are forbidden.
• A maximum of 1200 to 1500 kilocalories may be eaten per day.
• The program is advertised with letters of thanks, testimonials and/or before and after photos of former overweight participants.
• Famous names from movies, music, sport, science or fantasy names are used to name the program. For example, "Mayo Diet" or "Max Planck Diet".
• The program is based on the sale of products.
• Participation in the program is linked to contractual conditions that can only be fulfilled with great effort.

If you are not quite sure what to make of an offer, ask specialists :

• Nutrinfo - the free information service of the Swiss Society for Nutrition.
• Swiss Association of Certified Nutritionists SVDE