Learning the dangers of fad dieting can help you avoid trying to lose weight in an ineffective manner that could potentially harm your health. When you’re trying to lose weight, you may want to try out a fad diet that promises quick weight loss – but there are many dangers to these diet fads that can cause temporary or even long term problems. In short, any kind of fad diet is usually bad for you.

There’s all types of fad diets that promise quick weight loss. Some of them are extreme – only eating certain foods such as a banana for a week. Others such as colon detox diets involve drinking Epsom salts, which can have some negative effects on your digestive system!


You can identify dangerous fad diets by looking out for the following:

  • Any diet that completely restricts any one food group or revolves around another diet (such as high protein low carb diets)
  • Any diet that involves taking extreme supplements
  • Any diet that promises results in a week or less
  • Rigid Menu Plans
  • Uses Scare Tactics to trick you into thinking you need it
  • Do Not Follow the US Food Guidelines
  • Lacks any real evidence or support

Now that you know how to identify a fad diet, here are some of the short term dangers of fad dieting:

  • Light-headedness and dizziness from not eating enough
  • Feeling anxious or nervous
  • Constipation or Diarrhea and other digestive woes
  • Fainting
  • Headaches & Irritability

Here are some Long Term Dangers of Fad Dieting:

  • Metabolism Changes – too fast or too slow
  • Ketosis – typically associated with high protein diets this condition causes your body to go in “emergency mode” and can be fatal. Symptoms include nausea, depressed appetite, dizziness, weakness, headaches and can lead to kidney stones and other problems.
  • Increased Risk of Heart Attack – If your body overloads on foods high in fat, your heart will need to work harder. The harder your heart works and the more strain put on it increases your chances of a heart attack
  • Hormonal Changes – Fad diets can cause your hormones to be off balance, which can have long term effects on your body’s reproductive system.
  • Weight Loss is temporary – It’s not unusual with a fad diet to lose a lot of weight initially – but the moment you go off the diet or resume your old eating habits you will likely gain just as much weight as you lost back and possibly more.
  • Malnutrition – Our bodies need healthy foods that contain natural vitamins and minerals. Fad diets typically do not take health concerns and vitamins and minerals into consideration and this can lead to malnutrition.
  • Chronic Dieting – It’s easy for someone to become somewhat addicted to dieting after continuously trying one fad diet to the next. It affects the body not only physically but emotionally as well.

As you can see, there are many reasons why fad dieting is bad for you. These risks and side effects symptoms simply are not worth the false promise that these diets will help you lose weight! The best way to lose weight is to eat moderately healthy foods low in fat and added sugar combined with an exercise plan. Not only will you see long term results of weight loss, but you will be healthier and have less risks associated with the dangers of fad dieting.