Diet fads consumed by athletes of a club and academies in São Paulo

Abstract

The use of diet fads is the result of the increasing obsession for an acceptable physical shape. These type of diets are called this way because they are popular temporary practices that promise quick results but need further scientific demonstration. The study had the purpose of evaluating the use of the most popular diets reported on media vehicles. A 100 sportsmen who attend a sportsclub and gyms in São Paulo completed a questionnaire regarding training data, body weight satisfaction, food and diet fads, weight and height and accompaniment with nutritionist. There was a predominance of males (56%), with an average age of 32.7 years. The majority was eutrophic, worked out between 4-6 days a week, and practiced an average 1-2 hours a day with the aim of improving life quality. Concerning popular food, 62% believe that they contribute to weight loss regardless of actual consumption. Mostpeople who considered themselves thin and underweight were satisfied with their weight, while individuals who considered themselves overweight were unsatisfied. The most frequent diet fads was the Detox followed by the Dukan diet. Symptoms associated withthe use of diets were weakness, irritability, dizziness and hair loss. Only 15.3% sustained their weight loss for more than a year. Most participants believed that seeing a nutritionist regularly is effective. Finally, the research clearly concluded that the help of a nutritionist is essential for sportsmen and that diet fads are ineffective in the long term.