Poorva Chavan
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Written By: Poorva Chavan | Updated : February 19, 2016 11:52 AM IST
Crash or fad diets are a big trend and many people follow them to lose weight quickly. However, there are many side effects of these diets, and while they might help you lose weight, but they also lead to a lot of health problems which are rarely talked about.
One such diet is the Paleo or the caveman diet style. A new study published in the journalNutrition and Diabetes says that following this diet can actually make you fat and more susceptible to diabetes.Following a Paleo diet means eating a low carb and a high-fat diet for just eight weeks. The study says that if you follow this diet, you might gain weight rapidly and also have health complications. The finding if the study make it necessary to spread the word about these side effects of the such fad diets with little or no scientific evidence.
Sof Andrikopoulos, the lead author of the study says that diets like the Paleo diet should not be followed by people who are already overweight and lead sedentary lifestyles. He also blamed celebrity weight loss stories and the media hype around these types of diets and reality TV shows for encouraging people to follow these diets. He also warned people with diabetes about the risks of following a low carb and a high-fat (LCHF) diet. (Read:The Paleo diet - 7 reasons why you should eat like a caveman)
Why should people not follow these diets?
Firstly, there's no scientific evidence that these diets work. Researchers believe that if you put an inactive person on this type of diet, he/she might gain weight. He also warned people about these diets. One needs to be careful fad diets and seek professional advice for weight management. Aim for diets that are backed by evidence. Read:Going on a Paleo Diet?? Here's something you must read).
The study
The researchers stumbled upon these findings while testing whether a high-fat low carb diet would benefit people with pre-diabetes. They analysed two groups of overweight mice with symptoms of pre diabetes and put one group on the low carb, high fat diet and the other on their normal diet. They observed that the group that was put on Paleo diet put on 15 % of the weight in only eight weeks. The researchers explained that if we compare this to a person, an 80-kg person would son hit 92 kg on the scale.
Photo source: Getty images(Image for representational purpose only)
