1. Evaluating Nutrition Information: It’s Your Decision Amy D. Eades PhD, RD, LD

3. Top 10 Diets Consumers are Aware of: Atkins Weight Watchers Slim Fast Jenny Craig South Beach Diet Subway Diet Richard Simmons Grapefruit Diet Metabolife Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Loss

4. How do you sort through the confusion? Armor yourself with knowledge Refer to health experts in the field Keep a check list of questions to ask yourself about a diet or product Know the “red flags” to fad diets If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

5. Fad Diet Red Flags Quick and easy Use of supplements Meal skipping No changes in lifestyle Lose > 2 pounds/wk Purchase special foods Avoid one food group < 1000 kcal/day Single food is the key Lists of “good” foods & “bad” foods

6. Fad Diet Red Flags cont. Uses the words “eliminate” or “avoid” Recommendations based on a single study Recommendations based on studies published without peer review Uses testimonial as support for use Uses dramatic statements refuted by reputable scientific organizations.

7. When evaluating nutrition information & products, identify: Objective measurements vs. Subjective measurements

8. When evaluating a diet or nutrition products... Is it creating permanent changes in diet and lifestyle? Are you learning behavior modifications? Can you survive & stay on the regimen for life? Do they know the long term effects? Who is promoting the product/ information?

9. Claim or Truth? You can lose weight with exceptionally easy rules. You can lose weight by eating a specific ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat. This revolutionary diet can reset your genetic code. High-protein diets are popular, selling more that 20 million books, because they work.

10. The Subway Diet

11. Low Carbohydrate Diet Myth or Fact? Weight lost quickly with initiation of diet Decreases appetite while increasing satiation Long term effects are documented by long term studies Allows “forbidden” foods Developed by a medical doctor It is easy Insulin is detrimental to weight

12. Low Carbohydrate Diets: The Facts Ketosis Low in fiber Original diet high in fat and saturated fats Excludes food groups Increases risk for dehydration Speculation that diet increases risk of osteoporosis Phytochemicals Poor long term results

13. The Nutritional Bottom Line Calories count! Low-carbohydrate diet is monotonous Learn behavior modifications –Food Guide Pyramid along with physical activity “All Foods Can Fit” This diet not supported by ADA, ACS, AHA, ADiabetesA, AMA, and the U.S. Surgeon General

14. Case Scenario Madison wants to lose weight quickly. She Comes across a diet called “Easy to Lose”. The diet claims that by cutting out carbohydrates, they can lose weight quickly. On average, weight loss is about 5 pounds per week. The diet Consists of 1,000kcalories a day and calls carbohydrate foods “bad” foods that cause weight gain. Included with the diet is one study from its independent laboratory showing its effectiveness. Madison thinks that if the diet is supported by a research study, it must be safe and effective. Do you see any “red flags” to this diet?

15. Web Reliability Look for: –.edu –.org –.gov Examples –www.eatright.org –www.navigator.tufts.edu –www.ific.org –www.fda.gov –www.americanheart.org –www.mayohealth.org –www.healthfinder.gov –www.quackwatch.org