A leading obesity expert has slammed Hollywood diets which expect users to eat less than 600 calories a day.
These diets, known as Very-Low-Calorie-Diets (VLCD's) can have dangerous side effects such as fainting, dizziness, nausea, headaches and insomnia.
Dr David Ashton, Medical Director of Healthier Weight says: ‘These faddy diets are difficult to maintain, they make you ill, and they can be dangerous to your health.
"With research now showing that they are no more effective than Low Calorie Diets people shouldn’t be suffering un-necessarily. Losing weight is a very positive thing, but I would never advise my patients to go below 850 to 1,000 calories per day."
It seems the government is also keen to educate young people on the dangers of extreme dieting. Home Economics and PE GCSEs are being introduced this year to teach pupils the importance of avoiding ‘crash’ dieting and maintaining a balanced diet. Both courses are looking to promote healthy lifestyle among students as there is a worrying lack of knowledge on the dangers of crash dieting and food fads.
They hope to end young girls' obsessions with wanting to look like Hollywood stars.
Dr Ashton explained that these extreme diets are prone to failures: "The most important part of a diet is that it encourages long term behavioural change. It’s not at all surprising that people ditch the VLCD and dive into the cake tin."