"The Times" of NW Indiana

The skinny on diets

DIET DEBATE: America's obsession with diet plans isn't tipping the scale against rising obesity.

BY JERRY DAVICH
Times Staff Writer

Link to article

A new battle line has been drawn in the decades-old war against weight gain.

It's wrapped around the country's bulging waistline, with carbohydrates public enemy No. 1.

In a world of Krispy Kreme cravings, super-sized servings and all-you-can-eat buffets, obesity is now a national health epidemic, responsible for more health problems than smoking, officials suspect.

About one of every four adults -- nearly 50 million people -- is considered obese, according to latest government guidelines. And Indiana is fatter than the national average.

With diet plans like Atkins, The Zone, G.I., South Beach and so on all the rage these days, people are still gaining weight.

Why? Because for the most part, experts say, these fad diets don't work. Sure, most diets will melt away immediate pounds. But long-term weight loss is another story, they say. In fact, nearly nine out of 10 dieters will eventually gain back their lost weight, and a few will gain back even more.

"Keeping weight off is like a part-time job. You have to keep working," said Terri Sakelaris, a registered dietitian works at The Community Hospital's Fitness Pointe in Munster.

On popular high-protein, low-carb plans like the Atkins diet, followers can eat all the cheese, eggs and meat they want, as long as they religiously limit carbohydrates. And this often works, at first, for many desperate dieters.

Sakelaris said the human brain needs roughly six grams of carbs an hour, about 144 a day, to function properly, explaining why many carb-phobic dieters become sluggish or light-headed.

Also, high-protein diets are tough on the kidneys, and during the initial stages of many diets the body becomes frantic to protect itself from perceived atrophy, she said.

The first thing dietitians do with new clients is a complete health history before venturing into diet-mania.

Yet most dieters jump into the weight-loss waters without nary a thought to their overall health, said Judy Rose, a nutritionist with the Indiana State Department of Health.

Dr. Robert Buynak, of Portage, said patients routinely ask for help navigating the diet maze.

"But there is no one-size-fits-all diet," he said.

Rose said her office doesn't recommend any specific diets because most are nutritionally inadequate, some are even harmful. The only upside to new diets is they get people in the habit of reading food labels and tracking what goes into their bodies, she said.

In this brave new world of bread-bashing carb Nazis, Rose said people want that easily digestible magic bullet. They want a six- or 12-week program that will melt away a lifetime of bad habits, she said.

"But they don't exist," Rose said. "The downside with any diet is that eventually you have to come off of it."


Jerry Davich can be reached at jdavich~nwitimes.com or (219) 933-3376.


-- Although it's a smallish newspaper, I was kinda offended by this article. It seems that this correspondent spoke to a few people to get their input, but didn't do a little research for himself. Trust me, I'm working on an email to Mr. Davich right now to debunk some of the fallacies in this article. So much for a step forward in the media. Let's just hope that there's other journalists out there that are a little more productive in their research. I may be a little outta line with my thoughts, but it still can't hurt to direct this guy in to the Atkins website (as well as the forum's gateway/home page) to learn a little more about LCing.

Nikki