INFLUENCES
Media:
Technological Advances:
Interpersonal Communications:
Interpersonal Communications (cont.)
EXAMPLES:
Diet stories in the news often provide little
information about how newly reported results
fit in with existing evidence on the topic,
which may result in exaggerating the new
studys importance (Harvard T.H. Chan,
Deciphering Media Stories on Diet,
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource
/media/). Social media promotes unattainable
body types and also promotes fad diets that
often have no positive results in your bodys
health. (Safe and Dangerous Dieting: The
Fad Dieting Epidemic, Sex Info Online,
http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/sexinfo/article/safe-
and-dangerous-dieting-fad-dieting-epidemic)
Dietary recommendations are made by
research studies that are available at the
moment so guidelines are constantly
changing, meaning that not all new
researches and studies are actually credible
sources to support the effectiveness of fad
diets. (Harvard T.H. Chan, Deciphering
Media Stories on Diet,
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource
/media/) Newer studies are not always more
reliable than older studies, some study types
are more reliable than others. (Akemi Ueda
from The Stanford Humanities Center, Fad
diets shape societal trends about health,
Stanford scholar reveals in dissertation
https://news.stanford.edu/2016/01/13/diet-lit-
johnson-011316/)
According to the Social-Ecological Model that
is a theory that relates the effects of personal
and environmental factors that determine
behaviors, friends and family can alter your
dietary practices. (CSU External Relations
Staff, How do your friends affect your health?
https://source.colostate.edu/how-do-your-
friends-affect-your-health/) Social influences
on food intake refer to the impact that one or
more persons has on the eating behaviour of
others, either direct or indirect, either
conscious or subconscious. Even when
eating alone, food choice is influenced by
social factors because attitudes and habits
develop through the interaction with others.
(Eufic Staff, Why we eat what we eat: social
 and economic determinants of food choice,
http://www.eufic.org/en/food-
today/article/why-we-eat-what-we-eat-social-
and-economic-determinants-of-food-choice)

Immediate Risks: Fad diets that cut off nutrients needed in the
body can cause dehydration, weakness,
fatigue, nausea, constipation, and
inadequate vitamin intake. Most fad diets
restrict certain food groups, thus leading to
malnutrition. (Better Health, Weight Loss and
Fad Diets,
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/he
althyliving/weight-loss-and-fad-diets) Fad
diets can eliminate much-needed nutrients or
introduce ingredients that spike blood sugar
in a diabetic patient. High-protein diets can
create risks for other conditions. (Indiana
University Health, The Dangers of Fad
Dieting. http://iuhealth.org/news-
hub/detail/the-dangers-of-fad-diets/#.Wf-
fwxNSzos)

Long Term Risks: Eating disorders are a risk of fad diets, as the
reason for most people to go on fad diets
stems from body image issues. Many
extreme dieters are already underweight with
low BMIs. (River Centre Clinic, Dieting and
Risk For Eating Disorders, http://river-
centre.org/dieting-and-risk-for-eating-
disorders/) Some fad diets can make your
cholesterol worse and may even lead to
more cardiac risk. (AAFP, Fad Diets:
Weighing Short-term Gains Against Long-
term Harms?,
http://www.aafp.org/news/obesity/20100517f
ad-diets.html)