health fads

A health fad is a process or activity that is thought to increase health and wellbeinhg, which is favoured by large numbers of people for a short time. It may involve extreme activities or unusual foods.

 This assignment will:

• Critically analyse and assess health-related trends and fads including the use of planned diets and exercise regimes

•  Recognise myths and fallacies related to product marketing claims

• Complete a series of tasks in the format of a WebQuest to raise awareness of these findings with peers

This assignment needs the following tasks to be completed.

Task A is to create a  table about health fads and then complete the blank spaces.

Task B is to answer a number of questions  for each of the 3 fads that were selected.

Task C is to research online to find examples where Health Fads have caused death or serious illness/injury and complete the table using the information collected.

Task D is to complete a mini report that presents the information gathered from watching the following show -   'Dangerous Fads' (Dr Phil).

Task E is to find pictures of 3 famous people who are have tried a health fad and create a chain diagram that links the famous person to the fad and also to the negative side effects of the fad.

Task A

Health Fad	Details
Cabbage soup	The Cabbage Soup Diet helps you lose weight over a short period of time. It is not a long term diet. They think it started at the Sacred Hearts Hospital in America. You can get an app for this diet, and is currently used.
Zone Diet	It is made up of 40% Carbohydrate, 30% Protein, 30% Fat. It needs to be eaten at every meal. It was created by Dr. Barry Sears. It was first made in the 1990's.
The grapefruit diet	The grapefruit diet requires you to have half a grapefruit at every meal for 12 days.

Task B

1. How was the health fad promoted/marketed.

The Cabbage soup was found in booklets and a magazine. The Zone diet was was a very successful book, used by the media. And the Grapefruit diet was promoted by the media in magazines.

2.    Find an example advertisement for one of the fads and insert into this worksheet

 

 

3.    Explain why you think the promotion/marketing of these fads would be successful

People in the ads look very happy. People in the ads look slim. The ads tell you that you will lose lots of weight in a small amount of time.The ads are presented inbright happy colours

4.    Explain why you think the promotion/marketing of these fads would be unsuccessful

The cabbage soup diet is mainly found in little booklets and magazines, which people don't always read but also might not want to try. People may not want to just eat cabbage all the time. This would be similar with the Zone and Grapefruit diet, which are also usualy found in books and magazines. The Zone and Grapefruit diet are a lot of work to prepare.

5.    Which of the 3 fads you selected would you be most likely to try and WHY?

Probably the Zone diet  because you have a variaty of different foods to eat and try, instead of just one single thing.

6.    Which of the 3 fads would you be least likely to try and WHY?

The Grapefruit because after eating it for a bit your lips would get all crinkly and pucker-face like, but also because you only get to eat Grapefruit.

7.    What are the negative side effects for each?

Cabbage soup diet: It restricts your needed calories and energythe body needs, and then your body uses its backup energy, aka fat.

Zone diet: Fullness, insomnia, night time anxiety, indigestion, irregular hypogylcemias, strange symptoms, ankle and knee swelling, and long lasting effects.

Grapefruit diet: Metabolism, oral health, stomach pains/problems, dizziness, and drug interaction.

 Task C

Health Fad	Cotton ball diet
Person (Name, Age, Gender, photo)	Teenagers
Duration of Health Fad
Reason for going on Health Fad	To lose weight and look slim.
Symptoms	Suffocation, clogging in bowels, and malnutrition.
Did the Health Fad achieve what it claimed in any way?	No, because you can suffocate from eating one, and causes very bad pains.
Details of other similar cases	Similar cases are pica, wood and hair.

 

Health Fad	Tanning.
Person (Name, Age, Gender, photo)	Young adults  mainly female.
Duration of Health Fad	Once a week.
Reason for going on Health Fad	To make their skin look nice.
Symptoms	Skin cancer, a mole on their skin.
Did the Health Fad achieve what it claimed in any way?	Yes, because it tans the persons skin, but it causes skin cancer.
Details of other similar cases	Melanoma is the most serious of the skin cancer types.

  Task D

 

The type of dangerous health fads in the tv show was tanning and pills. The pill type is Phentermine. The people who normally are involved in the tanning fads are young adults and they want to do these fads to get golden skin. The people that are normally involved in the pill health fad are also young adults that want to lose weight desperatly. The side effects of the tanning are skin cancer and melanoma. The side effects of the pills are loads of energy, weight loss, become aggresive, heart pains, sickness and nausea.

   

Task E

 

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Health diet is the Breatharion diet which is just eating air instead of actual food!

Negative side effects:

Dehydration, risk of death and causes malnutrition.

Victoria Beckham is a regular user of the Alkaline Diet, which can affect the acidity of blood and urine.

Negative side effects:

Sickness and Acidic feeling.

Beyonce Knowles health fad that she tried was the maple syrup diet. She had to eat and drink maple syrup for 14 days.

Negative side effects:

Malnutrition and low energy level.

Conclusion:

I have learnt that health fads are only usually good for a few days but then become deadly sometimes. Companies get people to try health fads by advertising on the tv and internet. Instead of doing a health fad is to excercise every day, to get a good balanced healthy diet.