ugrc 145: food and nutrition in everyday life · ugrc 145: food and nutrition in everyday life ......

College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017

UGRC 145:

FOOD AND NUTRITION IN

EVERYDAY LIFE

Session 11 – FOOD FADDISM

Lecturer: PROF. MATILDA STEINER-ASIEDU, SBS, CBAS; University of Ghana, Email: [email protected]

Session Overview

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lecture you should be able to:

• Promote a sound, factual understanding of foods and their use.

• Explain what food faddism is and a fad diet

• Describe basic characteristics of fad diets

• Differentiate facts about food from fads

• Describe at least 2 eating disorders and their implications on health

Slide 2 Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu

Session Outline

The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:

• Topic One: Food Faddism

• Topic Two: Eating Disorders

• Topic Three: Assignment/Discussion For Next Session

Prof M. Steiner-Asiedu Slide 3

FOOD FADDISM

Topic One


FOOD FAD

What is a food fad? • It is an unusual pattern of food

behavior enthusiastically adopted by those who practice it –(Sometimes referred to as food cultism)


FOOD FAD cont’d

• Dietary fads have been known from 400-500 BC when athletes and warriors used products such as deer liver and lion’s heart to impart certain benefits –Example they did this with the hope that

consumption would produce bravery, speed or strength


Who follows food fads?

• Followers of food fads are not necessarily superstitious, uninformed or poor

• Most are convinced about the special

benefits of particular foods because – of religious beliefs –they are genuinely concerned about

diet and health but may lack access to reliable and simple information


Who follows food fads?

People who follow these practices precisely and with passion are said to be FOOD FADDISTS


SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD FADS

1. Special virtues of a particular food are exaggerated and claimed to cure diseases (examples?)

2. Certain foods or food combinations have special health benefits

3. Emphasis on ‘natural’ or

organic foods


SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF FOOD FADS

4. Elimination of certain foods from the diet due to belief that harmful constituents are present

Examples some believe that foods that are : • enriched with vitamins are harmful

• preserved with chemical stabilizers are harmful


CONCERNS WITH FOOD FADS

Exaggeration: to make wild health claims or have an

obsession with a small aspect of nutrition.

Saying that whole grains are good for health is different

from believing that whole grains cure certain diseases.

Belief: in a health claim that is not entirely

supported by scientific research May be based on limited research or faulty research


Distinguishing between ‘fad’ and ‘sound’ claims

• In the book ‘Lets Get Well’ it is stated that nutrition can prevent and cure diseases such as water blisters, cramps, appendicitis, asthma, ageing, etc.

• Regenerative health programme by the Ghana

Health Services (GHS) makes recommendations to suggest that consumption of fruits and vegetables promote health.

Which of these is a fad and why?


What are Fad Diets?

o Fad diets: Subjective term used to label restrictive diets (typically for weight loss)

o They typically promise to i. prevent or cure many diseases (cancer) ii. cleanse the body iii. stimulate fast and effective weight loss iv. enhance performance in sports

o Usually targeted at people who want to lose

weight


Characteristics of Fad Diets

1. They are popular (but users soon find that the results expected are not seen and so abandon them)

2. Foods are often labeled as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ which may lead to elimination of important food groups or unusual or ritual type food patterns


Examples of Fad diets

THE LEMONADE DIET Developed in 1941 by a self-appointed ‘alternative

medicine’ expert with no formal medical training

It was recently revived and popularized by Peter Glickman in his book ‘Lose Weight, Have More Energy and Be Happier in 10 Days’

‘Detoxification’ diet that relies on extreme-calorie restriction to lose weight

No solid food is taken only water, lemon or lime juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper


Examples of Fad diets cont’d

HIGH-PROTEIN DIETS

– Proposes consumption of large quantities of animal protein (meat, eggs, fish) to lose weight and build muscle

– The flaw in this argument is physical activity and weight training build muscle strength

– This diet is harmful to health because consumption of large amounts of proteins over a long period puts pressure on the kidneys and liver

– Protein diets may also lack vitamins

– Consuming a lot of meat means high fats and cholesterol levels and more calories


Examples of Fad diets cont’d

OTHER FAD DIETS

• Cabbage Soup Diet • Banana Diet • Tuna Fish Diet • Genetically Modified Diet • Acai Berry Diet • Grape Fruit Diet All these diets are made from one ingredient and so are

limited in nutrients


PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED with fad diets


Poor long-term weight control Most fad diets do not teach healthy ways of

eating because they promote fast methods of ‘improving’ health

Weight lost is gained quickly when old dietary patterns are resumed

Cravings for foods not included in the fad diet is developed and when the period is over, over-consumption will lead to greater weight gain


Non-communicable disease

– Fad diets restrict or eliminate fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains which may help prevent chronic conditions

– This leads to increase in chronic conditions; heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure



Non-communicable disease High protein diets may also increase

calcium excretion leading to osteoporosis (porous, fragile bones) and high risk for heart and blood vessel problems

High protein diet, low carbohydrate diets may lead to uric acid and calcium oxalate formation, causing kidney stones and gout (PAINS IN JOINTS)



Reduced work performance

– Increased in signs of tiredness and weakness because of decreased carbohydrate intake (the body’s energy source)

– Low carbohydrate diets cause a loss of water and electrolytes (compounds that conduct electricity in solution and useful in the body e.g. Sodium (Na+), Potassium (K+),

calcium (Ca2+)



Reduced work performance

– Fluid and electrolytes are lost because the body relies on protein and fat stores when carbohydrates are absent and these are linked with fluid and electrolytes

– Fluid and electrolyte loss will lead to serious health problems e.g. low blood pressure and weakness


FAD DIETS AND ORAL HEALTH

The concerns of oral health workers with fad diets are:

– High protein diets increase body water excretion

leading to thirst (dehydration). This may be associated with xerostamia (dry mouth resulting from reduced or absent saliva flow)

– Reducing food intake to 1-2meals/day also interferes with saliva flow. Chewing gum helps to increase saliva flow


FAD DIETS AND ORAL HEALTH

– Fad diets that recommend intake of caffeine-rich calorie-free drinks or herbal supplements cause dehydration of oral tissues and dental erosion

NOTE!!! Saliva plays an important role in

preventing dental decay, cleansing the teeth, and reducing the effects of acids in the mouth which cause tooth decay


HOW TO DETERMINE FACT FROM FAD

Ask the following questions: Does the diet promise fast weight loss or

easy cure of a disease? Does the diet sound too good to be true in

what it can do for you?

Does the diet help sell a company’s product?


HOW TO DETERMINE FACT FROM FAD

Does the diet have any valid scientific research to support its claims on what it can do for the body?

Does the diet give details of “good” and “bad” foods to eat and avoid respectively?

NOTE!!!

A yes to any of these questions means the diet is a fad diet. See a nutritionist, dietitian or health professional for clarification


EATING DISORDERS

Topic Two


Overview

• Eating disorders affect the youth especially females

• Severe dieting may also lead to eating disorders

• The two most common eating disorders are: • Anoxeria nervosa • Bulimia nervosa

• Both these disorders are associated with tooth decay

and may be due to lack of carbohydrates and their effect on water and electrolyte balance


ANOREXIA NERVOSA

Marked by insufficient food intake to maintain adequate body-weight (essentially voluntary starvation)

Eating disorder characterized by obsessive fear of gaining weight due to a distorted self image (see themselves as fat when in fact they are very skinny)

More common among young white women

There are both biological and environmental causes

Environmental causes associated with desire of individuals to conform to media promotion of what an ideal female-people in professions with social pressure to be thin also have high risk


http://anorexiapictures.net/

Effects on health

• weight loss in a very short period

• irregular menstrual cycles • Bone mineral loss


Anorexic ladies


http://www.freakingnews.com/Lindsay-Lohan-Nicole-Richie-Pics-25824.asp

http://www.freakingnews.com/Lindsay-Lohan-Pictures-25856.asp

Bulimia nervosa

Eating disorder in which the person undergoes periods of over-eating followed by self-induced vomiting

• Behavioural signs: • over-eating • eating in secret • bathroom visits after meals to vomit • use of diet pills


Bulimia


BULIMIA NERVOSA

Common medical complications and adverse effects of bulimia include:

• Weight gain • Abdominal pain, bloating • Swelling of the hands and feet • Chronic sore throat • Swollen cheeks and salivary glands


NOTE!!!!!!

• Faddism is dangerous to health

• Don’t be a food faddist!!

• Always be careful in your health endeavours so that you don’t take any aspect of your health programme to the extreme


ASSIGNMENT/DISCUSSION FOR NEXT SESSION Topic Two


Take home

• List 2 characteristics of fad diet.

• What are the implications of eating disorders?


Next week

• We shall discuss food Habits.

• Make sure you read hand-out 9A


ugrc 145: food and nutrition in everyday life · ugrc 145: food and nutrition in everyday life ......

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