Diets gain popularity among youth

IT is that time of the year when you will hit the gym with the hope of getting that bikini body you desire for summer.

This season we found that the most popular methods of losing weight among the youth are Banting and Garcinia Cambogia.

Banting has become synonymous with University of Cape Town sports scientist Prof Tim Noakes.

His theory of Banting was first established by an English undertaker William Banting who was overly obese and through the advice of his doctor, Dr William Harvey, went on a low carbohydrates diet and lost a significant amount of weight.

Banting was later modified – to what it is known now through Noakes – by a German physician Dr Wilhelm Ebstein, who realised the trick was high-fat low-carb as fat reduced hunger more effectively.

Noakes banted for two years and lost 20kg and as a result he highly recommends Banting.

He has accumulated support- ers of all ages with his Banting programme in South Africa and some youth have put him to the test in the Nelson Mandela Bay.

Rochelle Fleurs, 29, from Times Media said: “I have been Banting for three weeks now and I have lost 3kg and I can feel that my clothes are loose which means that I have lost a lot of centimetres.”

Chantelle Ball, 33, who works at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s (NMMU) Finance Department has also been Banting and she highly recommends it as she lost 10kg in a few months.

A noteworthy downside with Banting is that it is expensive.

Ball tackles this by purchasing her products in bulk, whereas Fleurs faces a challenge as she lives with family and often the food which she requires for Banting is different to that of her family. Dietician Phumza Ntongwana from NMMU said she had further considerations about the Banting diet.

Mkontwana said: “There are a lot of unanswered questions and a lack of adequate scientific base for the Banting diet.”

Garcinia Cambogia is very popular amongst the youth nationwide, but, the amount of people who purchase Garcinia is dependent on demographics. Garcinia is a pumpkin shaped fruit from Indonesia. With a rind that contains hydroxycitric acid which is said to be effective for losing weight.

Pharmacist Whale Mike said: “Garcinia Cambogia is all natural and healthy for the youth. It has often been used in other medications in small quantities, it’s just that now it has become more popular as a dieting pill”.

“Garcinia is effective, when used with a well-balanced diet, excessive exercising as well as drinking a lot of water,” he said.

Mkontwana said: “There have been reports of side effects and liver problems, including gall stones in clients who have used Garcinia.”