The health issues, mainly overweight and obesity are the growing concerns nowadays due
to the associated factors and lifestyle changes which significantly have increased the individual’s
health care expenditures. Fad diets are promoted as the easiest and simplest way of shedding the
extra weight despite the availability of several treatments available. The prevention and treatment
measures, including modification in lifestyle, dietary pattern, and physical activity, are the foundation
of weight loss. However, the standard treatment measures are not effective for certain populations
as they require long time adherence, which leads to the search for other approaches like fad
diet. We steered a comprehensive literature review to present the facts related to fad diets to their
efficacy and sustainability. Although fad diets have yielded tremendous positive results in weight
loss and cardiovascular risk prevention, the studies reported death in long-term interventions and the
results and some of them show side effects too. Randomized controlled trials have significantly
reported weight loss in comparison with the popular fad diets; however, persisting on the same diet
has also reported kidney problems, ketosis, and other metabolic related problems. The conclusion of
this critical review reported that gradual weight loss could be attained by the combination of lifestyle
modifications, physical activity, and recommended dietary approaches.
Low or Moderate Dietary Energy Restriction for Long-term Weight Loss: What Works Best?
