(ETX Daily Up) – Who says diet and holiday season don’t go hand in hand? A new study reveals that more than four in ten Americans are currently on a diet, despite a favorable period – with Thanksgiving and Christmas – for excess calories. Something they are trying to remedy with intermittent fasting, the most popular diet currently in the United States.
Keeping fit and losing the few pounds accumulated during the year-end celebrations are among the famous good intentions that now sound like a refrain every January 1st. Men and women are turning to the diets of the moment to sculpt their silhouettes in anticipation of the sunny days and the return to the beach. A welcomed idea seems, or almost, because diets have – they too – more seasonality (my good lady), as reported by a new study conducted by Within Health with 900 Americans.
More than four in ten respondents (44%) are currently on a diet, despite the holiday season they are about to embrace. And it’s not a (very) long-term diet, since more than half of dieters (56%) say they started it for three months or less, that is, as soon as they leave the summer period. It should be noted that more women than their male counterparts are on a diet (47% versus 41%) but that the gap is quite significant.
Intermittent Fasting Appeals
Currently, Americans swear only – or nearly so – on intermittent fasting, which consists of alternating periods of food intake and fasting, spread over defined time slots. The study tells us that the low carb diet ranks second, ahead of healthy eating, vegetarianism, and the ketogenic diet, which consists of favoring lipids at the expense of carbohydrates.
Interestingly – and curiously – the ranking is not the same when respondents evoke the diet they lived in the past that gets all their favors. It is the low carb diet that is at the top (41%), ahead of intermittent fasting (37%), eating healthily (25%), the ketogenic diet (24%) and vegetarianism (23%). A difference that could be explained by the constraints imposed by the most ‘effective’ diets in the eyes of Americans, which a fortiori do not hold up for long.
“If all diet plans worked, the diet industry would go bankrupt,” says Katie Piel, a therapist at Within Health. He adds, “Diets are also a strong predictor of weight recovery. Most people who lose a significant amount of body weight will regain the ‘plus tax’ weight because the body perceives weight loss as hunger. And it will increase its weight loss. set point to protect against perceived hunger. “
Health First of all
Sculpting one’s body, or trying to satisfy certain stereotypes of beauty, are not among Americans’ priorities when starting a diet. While some try to improve their appearance (44%), the majority want to protect their health first and foremost (58%). But it’s also about gaining energy (36%) and confidence (31%) and reducing the risk of disease (25%).
However, the gaze and influence of others remain triggers in terms of diets. The study tells us that more than three in ten Americans (31%) started a diet because of social networks, 28% by a family member and 14% by a friend. It should be noted that nearly a quarter of the panel (23%) said they learned of the existence of a diet through an influencer.
The last lesson of this survey, and not least: diets are not without risks, if not consequences. More than four in ten dieters (44%) have had at least one symptom of an eating disorder in the past, including lack of energy (43%), sleep disturbance (37%), depression (34%), low self-esteem (31%) and digestive problems (25%). A finding that reminds us of the need to consult a healthcare professional in the case of a long-term diet.
The study also shows that 27% of respondents started a diet at the request of their doctor and that a third of them believe they are in better health after this diet.
* As of October 2022, 901 Americans were surveyed about their eating habits and history. The respondents were 49% male, 49% female and 2% transgender or non-binary. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 89, with an average age of 38. As for the most popular diets, Inside health analyzed the search volume for the keywords “diet” and “weight loss” in the 35 most populous cities in the United States, then normalized the search volume per 100,000 inhabitants of each city, between August 2021 and August 2022.
