June 2023 I spy a fad diet! Your guide to critically evaluating diet and wellness trends
By Sara Parsons
The net worth of the diet industry in the US is roughly $72.6 billion. According to Boston Medical Center, approximately 45 million Americans diet each year. Between celebrity endorsements, social media influencers, media outlets, books, friends, family, and even strangers, we are all bombarded with messages about one new diet trend after another. Taking on diet culture is like taking on a shape-shifting monster so we’re here to equip you with some tools for navigating diet and wellness trends.

What are Fad Diets?
Fad diets are advertised as quick-fix plans that promise weight loss and/or drastically improved health. Many fad diets are restrictive and involve rigid rules around what foods you can eat, how much you can eat, what times you’re allowed to eat, and even how much to exercise. While many diets can offer desirable outcomes in the short-term, most often the results are temporary due to the unsustainable, restrictive nature of the diet plan.
Why Should I question XYZ Diet?
Diet and wellness plans, lifestyle prescriptions, weight loss regimens, cleanses, and detoxes may not live up to their promises. There are many known risks associated with dieting like weight cycling, losing touch with physical hunger cues, slowed metabolism, low energy, loss of muscle mass, obsession with food, anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, body dissatisfaction, cravings, greater risk of heart disease, the potential for developing disordered eating, and the list goes on… (Click here to learn more about the risks of dieting). All of this is to say, the KRNC does not promote or support fad diets. To avoid these risks and the tempting pull of this billion-dollar industry, we’ve compiled a list of questions to help you spot a fad diet.
How does it talk about food?
If morality such as ‘good’ vs ‘bad’ or ‘clean’ vs ‘dirty’ or ‘allowed’ vs ‘forbidden’ is applied to food, it’s a diet! Food is food and it doesn’t have moral value. Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is important. Satisfaction and flexibility are also valuable and deserve a place at the table because they are part of having a healthy relationship with food.
Does it have strict rules or suggest there is a ‘perfect’ way to eat?
Diet and wellness plans are often founded on strict rules that dictate what you should and should not do. Diet bylaws suggest there is one perfect, universal way to eat and that results are perfectly predictable, which is very untrue! They often neglect (or misappropriate) cultural foods, ignore personal preferences, and forsake pleasure. Nutrition is so personal and individualized and there is no one-size-fits all way to eat.
Does it promote deprivation and restriction?
This can include calorie restriction, nonmedically prescribed elimination diets, the avoidance of entire food groups, or very strict limitations on certain foods. Calorie and food group restrictions can also be dangerous and result in unhealthy weight loss and/or inadequate nutrient intake.
Would it require you to put your life on hold to be ‘successful’ and/or promote preoccupation with food?
If you need to plan your life around the diet or make other unrealistic sacrifices to fit this new plan into your life, you may want to stop and reconsider. Most, if not all, diets cause you to think about food and what to eat all the time. Fixation of food can inhibit your ability to engage with your life (think social activities, family gatherings, holidays, travel)! Healthful eating does not have to be complicated nor does it have to rule your life.
Does it offer any high-quality scientific evidence for the claims it is making? And, is it accurately representing the findings of those studies?
It’s important to consider the source of information. Media can often oversimplify, conflate, and generalize research. Nutrition research can be complicated and sometimes the results cannot be directly applied to real-life circumstances or generalized for every individual. Anecdotal reports that “it worked for someone” is not the same thing as evidence-based science.
Does it claim to have unlocked the code for lasting weight loss, preventing certain chronic diseases, and/or longevity?
If a diet has somehow discovered the way to lose weight, keep chronic diseases at bay, or reverse illness, it may be too good to be true. Some even go so far as to say that science has yet to catch up with their magical new diet (yikes!). Others may base their claims on grand assumptions, oversimplifications, and inaccurate representations.
Who was the diet created by?
Determining whether the author is a credible source is key. Just because they are an MD or other medical professionals doesn’t mean they have the proper training to provide individualized nutrition advice (and many don’t have experience working with disordered eating). It’s important to consider the author’s motivations for creating the diet. Many are biased and/or trying to sell a product like diet books or supplements.
Is this wellness program a fad diet in disguise?
Many health and wellness plans claim to be anything but a diet despite using the same tenets as most diets. These programs will often put some foods on a pedestal while demonizing others. They may also promise weight loss as a side effect of ‘optimizing’ health. Ultimately, wellness diets falsely assume that health is completely under a person’s control and is therefore equally achievable for all – if they work hard enough for it.
How does the diet address ‘failure’ or ‘falling off the bandwagon’?
Many diets subtly hint that failure is your fault; when really it was the diet that failed you. Diets don’t work because they are not sustainable.
Bottom Line:
At the end of the day, how you choose to nourish yourself is your decision. After reading this, our hope is that you feel more confident in asking critical questions that can help you navigate the everyday pressures of diet culture. Connect with a KRNC dietitian if you’re looking for help with breaking free from dieting.
About the Author:
Sara was recently a dietetic intern and is soon-to-be Registered Dietitian with her MS in Nutrition and Dietetics. Sara is an alumni of CSU’s undergraduate program for Food Science and Human Nutrition. She intends to pursue a career in nutrition counseling and is passionate about eating disorders, teaching, sports nutrition, GI health, integrative & functional nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. A fun fact about Sara: she grew up in Colorado and enjoys rock climbing, running, hiking, cooking, dancing, and fly fishing. She recently ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon in April!
More Information:
For additional resources for healthy eating, check out these programs from our registered dietitian nutritionists. Find delicious and healthy recipes on our Recipes page! More health tips are also available at the College of Health and Human Sciences Pinterest board. Lastly, don’t forget to sign up for the KRNC monthly newsletter!