Health Fads

In this assignment, I must examine and assess health-related trends and fads including the use of exercise programs and planned diets.

I must also be able to recognise fallacies (exaggerations and lies) and myths that are related to product marketing claims.

Finally, I must complete six tasks (including a conclusion), in the program WebQuest, to inform my classmates of my findings. 

Definition of Health fad: a health fashion that is taken up for a brief period of time. 

Task A: I must create a table in the Process section on the left menu and fill in the gaps (this table must include current and old health fads). In the Health Fad section on the table, I must type in a health fad. In the Details section, I must type in the details of each particular fad.

Task B: I must select three health fads from Task A. I must then answer seven questions, in full sentences, for each of the three fads I selected.

Task C: Using online research, I must find examples of health fads that have caused serious illness/injury or even death and put them into a table. I must then, in detail and using my own words, fill in the table, using the information I have collected.

Task D: I must create a mini report that shows information I have collected from watching Dangerous Fads (a short video created by Dr Phil). My report must include the information which is located in the Theory Assessment sheet in the Task D section. It must also be written in an easy-to-read and interesting way.

Task E: I must find pictures of three famous people who have attempted a health fad. I must then create a chain diagram that connects the famous person to the particular fad they attempted and then also to the nagative side effects of that fad. There are some instructions on how to create a chain diagram on the Theory Assessment sheet in the Task E section.

Task A:

Task B:

1. The Atkins Diet is promoted in "The Sunshine Mail", whereas the Cabbage Soup Diet is promoted in a magazine called "Marie Claire". The Juice Cleanses diet is promoted on a TV commercial.

2. http://juice-today.com/Juice-Today-TV-Video.html

(Website of Juice Cleanses TV commercial)

3. I think that the promotion of the Atkins Diet would be successful because people would think that it's a great diet; you still get to eat meaty and fatty foods. You would think that by eating meaty and fatty foods that your body would put on weight, but this is not the case. As you are eating these foods, your body burns fat due to the lack of carbs. The promotion of the Juice Cleanse diet would also be successful. A program called Pressed Juicery makes juice for cleanses and on its website it says that they are delicious, nutritious and 100% natural, with no added sugars. I believe that if people saw this Juice Cleanse marketing, they would want to be involved in the diet. I also think that the promotion of The Cabbage Soup Diet would be a success. This is because this diet is different from others. You're not just eating (or drinking) the same food over and over again, you get to have a different selection of food each day and I'm sure that this would appeal to lots of people.

4. I think that the promotion of the Juice Cleanse diet would be unsuccessful because people might not like the idea of only drinking liquid for 7 days. The Atkins diet might be unsuccessful as well because people might think that a diet where you eat meaty and fatty foods wouldn't help you lose weight. They might think, "A diet where you eat meaty and fatty foods? Doesn't sound like a proper diet to me." I think that the promotion of The Cabbage Soup Diet might also be unsuccessful because many people wouldn't like the idea of having cabbage everyday, let alone cabbage soup. Cabbage also causes flatulance so eating it everyday could become unpleasant not only for you but also for others around you.

5. The health fad that I would be most likely to try is The Cabbage Soup Diet. This diet is a 7 day plan and each day I have to eat something different. For example, the first day I would eat only fruit and soup. On the second day I would eat vegetables (no fruit) and (as a reward) for dinner I would get to eat a baked potato with lots of butter.

6. The health fad that I would be least likely to try is the Juice Cleanses diet. This is because for 3-7 days I would only be allowed to drink vegetable and fruit drinks, no solid foods. This diet would quickly become expensive because I would have to buy a juicer/blender or sign up for a service that delivers juices to me.

7. The Cabbage Soup Diet has a few negative side effects. Without calories, fat and carbs in your diet, your body is at risk of fainting. Another side effect is fatigue. Exercise plays an important role in any weight loss regime but when you stop taking in calories, your energy levels drop so you won't have enough energy to exercise. The Juice Cleanse diet also has a few side effects. They are dizziness, fatigue, constipation and dehydration. When you sign up to do a juice cleanse, you are expecting to lose weight but instead, you might actually gain weight. This is because your body isn't getting enough food so you feel horrible and end up breaking the diet and start binge eating. Some of the negative side effects in the Atkins Diet include, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, constipation and headaches. These side effects are from not eating any carbs when you're on this diet.

Task C:

Task D-Mini Report:

The TV show, Dangerous Fads, includes a health fad called Phentermine (an appetite suppressant).This fad is a pill that you swallow which makes your body feel full so that you don't eat lots of food to make you overweight. Since you aren't eating alot of food, your body loses weight. Another fad on the show is a Tanning bed. A Tanning bed is designed for one person to lie in a cylinder tube (a Tanning bed) as UV rays are sent out in a spectrum to tan your body.

The types of people who normally are involved in these fads are people who are unhappy about how they look. The guests on the show decided to go on a fad to either help them lose weight or to just make their skin look more attractive. Stephanie, one of the guests on the show, went on a diet pill called Phentermine because she was overweight. Erin and Ashleigh, two other guests on the show, went on a Tanning bed fad because they wanted their skin to look darker and more attractive. All three girls went on one of these fads at the cost of fainting, skin cancer and many other side effects.

Which brings me to my next point, side effects. Many fads involve side effects. When you go on a Tanning bed fad there are side effects such as sun damage, premature aging (wrinkling), melonoma and skin cancer (espicially if you are under the age of 35), it also interferes with the immune system and plastic surgery might also be needed. Stephanie told us that when she was on the Phentermine, she experienced dizziness (she had to catch herself from fainting), some nights she hardly got any sleep, she felt nauseous, she got headaches, her heart would race, which would make her scared and also while doing the fad, her husband told her that she was mean, moody and snappy. A docor who specialises in addictions to drugs, told us that there are many, many side effects involved in doing this fad.

Did you know:

- that legally you cannot buy Phentermine in Australia without a prescription, but now with access to the internet, you can secretly buy them online?

- that Phentermine is one of the most popular diet pills in the world - even though they have been around for over 50 years?

- there are approximately 22,000 tanning salons in the United States? These tanning salons have a total of about 28 million customers, 2.3 million of these people are teenagers.

Task E:

In conclusion, I have learnt that people go on health fads to lose weight and to look more attractive, even if there are many horrible side effects. I have also learnt that the people who advertise health fads, don't always tell us that there are any side effects. One of the guests on Dr Phil's TV show, Dangerous Fads, told us that she hadn't been told of any side effects when she went on a diet called Phentermine. Another thing that I have learnt is that when you go on a health fad thinking that it will help you lose weight, it doesn't always do that. If you sign up to do a juice cleanse and you are only allowed to drink fruit and vegetable juices, your body will get really hungry and you will start binge eating. 

Companies get people to try different health fads by making the fad sound like a quick and easy way to either lose weight or make yourself more attractive. Companies also promote their health fad by having celebrities endorse their product, which in turn, will attract others to want to try it too.

My strategy would be to encourage a balanced diet that includes lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and a carefully measured amount of meat products. For long term results, good nutrition is necessary. To compliment this balanced diet, I would include regular exercise and participation in sporting activities.