Slimmers warned off ‘quick f ix’ diet drinks
Gradual weight loss is best, says obesity expert
DIETERS who rely on overt he - c ounter s l i mming drinks are being led into a ‘cycle of failure’ that could damage their health, a top obesity expert has warned.
Donal O’shea, chairman of the Irish Heart Foundation’s Nutrition Council, said the low-calorie meal replacements do not work ‘for 95 per cent of people’.
The doctor, who runs the weight management clinic at St Colmchille’s Hospital in Loughlinstown, south Dublin, said: ‘If we have learned anything over the last decade in weight management it is that, for most people, slow weight loss is the only way to lose weight successfully and keep it off.’
Dr O’shea did not single out a particular product, but one of the best- known brands promises users weight loss of up to a stone or more a month.
He said he has seen people in his clinical practice with health problems as a result of very low calorie approaches such as meal replacement products.
He said: ‘I cannot say it enough: quick fixes do not work. My message to the public is to understand that there is no such thing as a shortcut to weight loss. Weight loss takes time, and the real key to success is to understand and accept this fact.
‘Pharmacists are becoming more and more active as health care deliverers, which is very positive – but with these developments comes responsibility.’ The Irish Heart Foundation recommends that those who are overweight or obese should manage their weight with a healthy and sustainable eating plan combined with regular exercise.
It said this approach reduces weight gradually, lowering risks such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as promoting energy and feelings of well-being.
Both the IHF and the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute recommend a moderate weight loss approach by reducing calorie intake by 500-1,000 kcals a day
‘There is no
shortcut’
which will produce a steady weight loss of 1-2 pounds (or 0.51kg) a week. Dr O’shea said diets of less than 800 kcals a day are not recommended and do not produce long-term results.
These diets can have many side effects such as weakness, dizziness, constipation, hair loss, nausea and irritability.
However, the Irish Pharmacy Union disputed Dr O’shea’s warning. It said that, with the proper guidance and advice, meal replacements can work. Its vice-president, Rory O’donnell, said: ‘As a healthcare professional, every pharmacist’s primary concern is the wellbeing of their patients.
‘Pharmacists are ideally placed to advise the public and to provide them with information in finding solutions to obesity. It is too flippant to claim that pharmacists are promoting meal replacement products without taking into account the impact on their patients.’
Maureen Mulvihill, the IHF’S health promotion manager, said ‘quick fix’ diets do not educate a person on the basic principles of healthy eating or how to change their behaviour for long-term health benefits.
She added: ‘Sooner or later, despite successfully losing weight on such diets in the short-term, people eventually revert to a more regular diet, which most often results in reverting to old habits and weight gain.
‘ For those with significant weight problems there may be a role for meal replacements, but only under the supervision of medical or dietetic intervention.’ RESPECTED black U.S. pastor C L Bryant, former leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, calls Rev Jesse Jackson and Rev Al Sharpton ‘race hustlers’ for ‘exploiting’ the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Meanwhile, Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, has applied to trademark ‘I Am Trayvon’ and ‘Justice for Trayvon’ for products including ‘digital materials, namely, CDS and DVDS featuring Trayvon Martin.’